


The City

by yukiscorpio



Series: The City [1]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-18
Packaged: 2018-01-08 09:16:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 53,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1130863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukiscorpio/pseuds/yukiscorpio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rithonia - an island, a city, a detached part of a greater whole. It is a world of its own, where the law and the underworld have struck a delicate balance. But every now and then, the scales are tipped...</p><p>This is a story about this city, and the men who live - and die - there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. For every Yagyuu, there is a Niou

**Author's Note:**

> The fic that ate my life. This story was one major experiment, and drew inspiration from films and books I have come across, as well as my own imagination. You may be able to identify the sources of some of the ideas. :) But like I said, the story was an experiment. I hope you'll be interested enough to read on.
> 
> Originally published on LJ in 2005-2006.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yagyuu and Niou, two men who have never met but know each other intimately.

He raps his fingers on the door. His other hand, holding a plastic bucket ($25, bought from the hardware store the night before) which contains cloths, brushes, detergents and black garbage sacks, is lifted so that he can see his watch.

One minute. Nothing.

Two minutes. Nothing.

Three minutes. Nothing.

Four minutes. Nothing.

Four minutes thirty seven seconds, an annoyed neighbour peeks his head out to see what the noise is about. He flashes the man a go-fuck-yourself grin, and continues his rapping.

Five minutes. Nothing. He's still alive. He pulls out a key from the inside pocket of his suit and enters the room.

It is one of those rooms that holds everything: bed, desk, sink, so compact he feels its... compact-ness as soon as he steps in. It reminds him of those makeup cases his mother used to own, one thing that holds everything and fits into your handbag, but when you need something from it, you find everything else that you don't need first.

It is a room because it is so dark, so filthy that it cannot be called a studio flat. Studios are modern and bright. This rented room is only as decent as the neighbourhood, the filth of this city.

Locking the door and then jamming it with a chair, he gets down to work. He gathers into his bags anything that must be thrown away. The sheets he leaves on the bed. For now.

He starts with the sink. Now that he can buy those sink unblockers in supermarkets, he doesn't need to stick something in to clear it inside, or open the u-pipe underneath to clear it out anymore. Pour a bottle of the stuff in and presto! Skin, hair, everything, gone in a few hours. That's why he always does the sink first now. By the time he finishes the rest of the room, it should be done. Usually he opens the pipe afterwards anyway in case something is still inside - a ring, for example - but he thinks that if mistakes like that are made, then the man doesn't deserve his help anyway, no matter how much he's getting paid.

He moves on to the windows. Or window, seeing there is only one of them. He wipes it down, inside and out. He cleans the handle, and the frame, and the metal bars that prevent anyone from trying to jump out, or climb in.

The desk, the floor and the walls are scrubbed. He gets down on his hands and knees for that. His hands are protected by bright yellow plastic gloves (a couple of dollars a pair, he has a mountain of them at home). That bleach makes his hands itch otherwise. But his knees, his suit, nothing protects it. He doesn't care. He crawls on the floor and scrubs it with every ounce of strength, up and down repeatedly, until he knows the sink is done. He gets off the floor and throws the gloves in with the rest of the trash. Some bleach and detergent still made it inside the gloves and his skin is red and the watch ruined. He throws the watch away too and washes his hands.

He drops into the bed. His suit is ruined but he has expected that. He wears a new one every time he does a visit, because that man pays him enough for such a luxury, and he likes to think he has dressed up for the occasion.

He turns over, presses his face into the pillow and breathes in deeply.

The man he works with calls himself "Yagyuu". He told this Yagyuu that his name is "Niou", but he doesn't think that Yagyuu believes it's his real name (it is, he told Yagyuu over the connection. The most dangerous place to be is often the safest; the eye of the storm is calm; don't hide and no one will find you.).

Yagyuu has been on this bed, probably just hours, even minutes before Niou arrived. Yagyuu has been in this room. That's why Niou is here now, to clean out every trace of existence that Yagyuu may have left behind. This is what Niou does, clean up Yagyuu's living space after Yagyuu finishes a project. He likes to think that Yagyuu needs him and trusts him (at $3000 an hour, Niou is a professional, but he likes to think Yagyuu trusts him more than just because of how much he charges). This man, Yagyuu, depends on him. Yes.

For every Yagyuu, there is a Niou. Every hitman (hitman, because "killer" is just anybody who kills and that's not pro, man) needs someone to clean up after he finishes his job and moves away from the temporary base. But Niou knows he is more than that. Not that he has actually talked to anyone who does his line of work, but he doesn't think every hitman would leave a half-smoked cigarette behind every time.

Flipping over again, Niou takes out a lighter and relights the cancer stick, closes his eyes and takes one deep drag. It is just an ordinary cigarette but he shudders as the warmth enters him. Smoke in his lungs, Yagyuu in his body. It is like sex. Just as intimate, just as raw.

Sometimes he'd jack off imagining this Yagyuu, on the sheets that Yagyuu had slept on, smoking the cigarette Yagyuu has left behind for him. But tonight he's tired and he doesn't want to. Turned on his side, he finishes the cigarette, breathes in the scent of shampoo on the pillow ( _Neutrogena Healthy Scalp Anti-Dandruff Formula_. The first time Niou found this shampoo in the supermarket he nearly orgasmed right there), caresses the sheets that have been slept on, then finally gets up. He bags the sheets, checks he has left no ashes, and cleans the doorknob on his way out.

 

Niou burns everything, including the suit, in a furnace he has at home, gathers the ashes and mixes them with several bags of normal household trash. Then he showers and turns on his computer.

**N:** 4 hours 37 minutes. It's done.

**Y:** 5 hours then. I will transfer the rest of the money to you now.

**N:** 4 hours, since I've spent 37 minutes in your bed.

A short pause.

**Y:** 4 hours then.

**N:** Would you like to know what I've done in your bed?

**Y:** Not interested. It is not my bed.

**N:** But it is, you've slept in it for two nights. Oh and thanks for the gift.

**Y:** Is there anything else? This secure connection costs money.

**N:** Let's go on a date. I want to see the face of the person whose bed I've laid in.

**Y:** There is no reason for us to meet.

**N:** There is, I've just said it. A date. Come on, I have a great personality  <3

Another pause.

**Y:** I will contact you with the next job.

**N:** I'll see you tomorrow 6pm at The Square.

Niou is the one who logs off first, because he likes to slam the phone on people before people slam the phone on him. He will go to The Square tomorrow and he knows he won't meet Yagyuu, but he thinks Yagyuu may be there, trying to figure out which person in the crowd is Niou as Niou tries to figure out which person in the crowd is Yagyuu.


	2. "Oh, bugger."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunter can also be the hunted. But who is hunting whom?

"Sengoku."

Hidden behind the stack of files on his desk, Sengoku raises his arm, the one that isn't frantically writing something into his note pad. "Holdonaminute!" He says, or rather, cries out, the hand slamming down on the folders as they begin to slide. The phone starts to ring at the same time. "MaryJosephJesus! Could you pick that up for me?"

"I'll get the folders - "

Sengoku finally stops for a moment. "Get the phone for me." He looks up at the other man, his right hand holding a pen and his left arm in front of him, still on the folders, and batters his eyelids. "Please?"

The other man rolls his eyes and takes the call. After listening for five seconds, he says, "I'll redirect you to the PR department," punches some buttons on the phone and puts the receiver down. He eyes Sengoku. "How did the reporters get your number?"

"Beats me." Sengoku sighs, his face buried in work again. "They've been calling me allll morning. I think I need a new number. Not lucky."

"Well anyway, Sen- "

"I said, holdonaminute!" Sengoku scribbles a bit more, then finally slams his pen down. He lifts his head as if he is emerging from water. "Yes, my dear Minami?"

Arms taut and hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, the look on Minami's face screams discomfort, but it isn't because of how Sengoku has just addressed him. Everybody in the department is Sengoku's 'dear'. "How's your luck treating you?"

"Oooh, I seem to be running low on that this week. Why?"

"The Chief Inspector wants to see us."

At that moment, it seems that the rush around them has slowed down. People begin to cast sympathetic gazes at Sengoku and Minami's direction. Dan hurries to the drinks machine and gets them two cups of coffee with too much sugar.

Sengoku and Minami stare at each other.

"Oh bugger."

 

"Sir." Minami greets as they enter the Chief Inspector's office. Sengoku closes the door behind them, not unaware of the stares they are still receiving.

"Is that how you usually greet your seniors?"

Sengoku and Minami look at each other. Sengoku is the one who reacts first, followed by Minami. "Sir!" They straighten their backs, stomp the floor once and raise their right arms to their sides, bending it so that the tips of their fingers nearly touch their temples.

Geez, neither of them had done much of this salute thing since the cadet school.

The Chief Inspector nods, but he is obviously still not satisfied. Sitting back in his chair, he eyes narrowed under his black hair. His gaze at the pair is scrutinising.

"Senior Inspectors Sengoku Kiyosumi and Minami Kentarou, I understand that both of you have worked in this department for quite long."

"Seven years, sir."

"But I presume you still remember our Mission Statement."

"Yes sir."

"Recite for me our Common Purpose."

What is this, the cadet exams? Minami thinks to himself, but he starts anyway. "The Rithonian Police Force will ensure a safe and stable society by: upholding the rule of law; maintaining law and order; preventing and detecting crime; safeguard- "

"Enough. Sengoku, continue."

"Safe - safeguarding and protecting life and, and property," Sengoku doesn't usually stammer, but it is one of the known side effects of seeing the Chief Inspector. He swallows hard and continues. "Working in partnership with the community and other agencies; striving for excellence in all that we do; maintaining public confidence in the Force."

Whew! The pair gives themselves a pat on their backs mentally.

"So, considering these seven Common Purposes," The Chief Inspector leans forward and rests his arms on the desk. "explain to me, Senior Inspector Sengoku and Senior Inspector Minami, WHY ON EARTH ARE WE STILL GETTING NOWHERE WITH THE MURDER CASE?"

The pair jumps at the bark, and jumps again when an angry fist is slammed into the desk. There is no need to specify which murder they are talking about. The media is all over it already, calling it the work of a professional, dramatising it until it becomes the latest media sensation. Worse still, they are linking it to other unsolved murder cases in the past.

The phone on the desk rings. The Chief Inspector ignores it. Suddenly Sengoku understands. "Oh, so the reporters've gotcha too huh, Sanada?"

Minami kicks Sengoku not-so-discreetly. Across the room, Sanada shoots Sengoku a look that can kill.

Sengoku promptly shuts up.

"I want results! I want to know everything about the victim: his family, his lovers, his illgetimate children. Who are his enemies, his first crush, the kid who delivers his morning papers! I want to know who killed him and I want you to bring me that guy, handcuffed! AM I BEING UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yes sir!"

"NOW GET OUT!"

The phone rings again as Sengoku and Minami scramble out of the office. This time Sanada answers the call, and Minami quickly shuts the door in case their Chief Inspector explodes after another call from the press. Not that Sanada has actually ever really done anything physical (at least not to Minami's knowledge), but the man is definitely not a dog with an empty bark. And that death glare, the way he always says he expects the best, it is quite enough to make the whole department be in awe and fear of him. (Except Dan, but the kid probably hasn't been here long enough to know fear yet, or he is just too keen to be afraid of anything.)

Minami says a silent prayer for being able to come back out in one piece, and not feet first. He follows Sengoku, who walks back to his desk, finishes his coffee ("Thanks, Dan!" He says, and gives the office assistant a wink, flashing teeth white enough for tooth-whitening adverts) and gets his jacket from a nearby peg.

"Well Minami, looks like we gotta head out."

"But we've already got men out there working..." Minami trails off. Has Sengoku got a lead?

"We're going to the temple! Thank the Buddah for coming back out of Sanada's office alive, man. If you don't thank him your luck will run out."

Right. Whatever. "How do you know it's the Buddah who protected us, and not some other Gods?" Sengoku isn't even religious.

"Well that's for me to know, Minami my dear."

The intel is only as trustworthy as its source and this case, the visit will very probably be pointless. But anything is better than sitting on their asses and waiting to be dragged back to Sanada's office again.

 

In a non-descriptive car, the man who calls himself Yagyuu watches, with the help of binoculars, Senior Inspectors Sengoku and Minami take off their shoes at the entrance of the Golden Temple. He puts the gadget away and drives off.

Now that he knows who has been talking way too much, the question is should that mouth be silenced forever, or should he let that mouth lead the cops around in circles. But perhaps it isn't up to him to decide. Their world always takes care of itself.

He flips his phone open and makes a call.

 

A body is washed ashore two days later. Sengoku takes one look at the photograph of the corpse, recognises the face and curses under his breath.

 

Somewhere in a darkened room where wallpapers peel on their edges to reveal damp stains underneath, and the glare of a white halogen lamp blinks, the sound of paper being cut can be heard. A young man sticks the article about the discovery of the body into the same book he uses for the famous murder just days ago. About him, neatly labelled note books fill the wooden shelves which line the walls. He isn't one who normally keeps such a careful eye on anything, but the Master has influenced him very much. He even wears his hair like Master now, to remind himself the importance of collecting and analysing data. He will need to know everything he can know, and more. For _Gekokujyou_.


	3. You have a great personality

**N:** Don't you think you should be nicer to me?

**Y:** What do you mean?

**N:** Considering the sort of dirty work I do for you, shouldn't you at least consider going out with me?

**Y:** You get paid for what you do.

**N:** Ever done business studies in school? Think Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Physiological needs, safety, love, esteem, self-actualisation. I'm lacking in the love department.

**Y:** I cannot say I sympathise.

**N:** In fact, sex falls into the physiological needs. When a person's needs aren

**Y:** I cannot sympathise about that either.

**N:** Yo, let me finish. When a person's needs aren't satisfied, they get demotivated about their job. It makes them do weird things. I probably have a pile of evidence ready to hand over for some nice reward, don't you think?

**Y:** You would not do that.

**N:** What makes you so sure?

**Y:** You have a great personality.

**N:** XD!!! Oh God you crack me up!  <3

**Y:** Next job will be Wednesday after next. The usual.

**N:** You're doing more work than before. Financial situation? Tell me and I'll consider giving you a discount since I love you so much.

**Y:** I thought you would like the increased workload.

**N:** Hell yes, any chance to get close to you  <3 By the way, it's my birthday the Wednesday after next.

**Y:** Really.

**N:** Have I ever lied to you?

**Y:** I would not know if you have or not.

**N:** How about a date? At least we'd find out if each other's a guy or gal.

**Y:** Wednesday after next. The usual.

**N:** Is that a da-

**Y:** How long?

**N:** 57 minutes.

**Y:** Is that all?

**N:** That's how long I've spent on your bed.

**Y:** So how much should I be paying you?

**N:** Nothing. This one's free, in the name of love. I had a really good time on your bed today.

**Y:** I shall assume four hours then.

**N:** Don't spoil my mood yo, I'm feeling generous. Thanks for the gift, I'm having a very happy birthday today.

**Y:** It may be bugged.

**N:** Are you daring me? I'm already wearing it. Being tagged by you makes me all horny. How did you know my watch's broken?

**Y:** This connection is expensive. I will not waste time.

**N:** Fine. By the way, you know you can contact me even if there are no jobs  <3

**Y:** I will no-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moral of the chapter: if you hang up on Niou, he'll hang up on you next time.


	4. "Don't get used to me."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changes are occurring in Sanada's life, but is it for better or worse?

It is raining. Water falls from the little overhang that shelters the threshold outside Sanada's house. The sound of water hitting the softer material on his shoulders is different from the sound of it hitting the gravel at his feet. This, strangely enough, is all that he can think of.

She is going away, she says, her hand clutching the handle of her black suitcase. She is tired of being married to a man who is married to his job, who hasn't even realised his wife has been seeing other men for the past year. The papers are on the dining table, please sign them and mail them out. She has prepared a stamped and addressed envelope, in case Sanada's too busy to look for one.

Sanada nods and moves aside so that she can leave. He asks if she needs a lift, and she says she's got one, pointing at the car stopped outside their home - Sanada's home - which Sanada has not paid attention to before.

He stands at the drive, and watches the car pull away. The tail lights, reflected by the rainwater on the tarmac road, eventually disappear in the distance. Then suddenly he realises: she knows. A woman's instinct, probably, since she could not have found out, but she knows, somehow. And perhaps that was the last straw. She didn't mention it just now so that at least they can still keep a little pride and dignity. But she knows.

He goes home, takes a long shower and signs the divorce papers the same way he signs all the other papers at his office. Somehow he thinks he has seen all of this before, maybe on TV or in a movie, except it has been so long since the last time he watched anything other than the news. Perhaps he has just seen this coming, or even dreamt about it.

He has been wanting this, he realises.

 

When Superintendent Yukimura Seiichi knocks and enters the office, Sanada rises from his chair. He has already seen the man walking through the department through the large pane of glass on one of his walls. Yukimura has stopped here and there to chat with his underlings and, as usual, each conversation has ended with a smile.

Yukimura closes the door behind him so gently the click can barely be heard. He lowers the blinds on the window, pulling them shut.

"Sit down, Sanada." The man says, taking a seat himself. "How many times have I told you to not bother with courtesy and politeness with me?" He says, leaning on his folded arms on the desk, a small smile dancing across thin, pale lips.

Too many times. "I got used to it." Sanada replies, his voice low.

"Don't get used to me." Yukimura's smile is as soft as his tone. He sees the words register on Sanada, and slowly sits up straight. "How is it going then?"

Sanada breathes out deeply as if he has found an escape. Not that he has any good news to bring on that topic. "Still no leads. I've put the best men I have on it, but they aren't coming out with any results." This can be discussed on the phone, so he knows it isn't what Yukimura has come for.

"Don't shout at your team too much, okay? We have very little experience on tackling the planned work of a professional." Yukimura cocks his head and looks at Sanada in the eye. "The media will get bored of it very soon, if they aren't already. That's the way of this city: they constantly need new sensations. They swallow everything in sight like a hungry beast and they don't even realise they haven't digested anything before it's passed out of their system."

Sanada just nods stiffly. Those aren't the words a superintendent, or in fact any officer, should say, but it is very Yukimura to say them.

"I suspect one or two of my men know something, but it isn't the right time for them to talk. It'll be suicide." Yukimura rises from his chair, and his hand trails on the oakwood desk as he walks around the furniture towards Sanada, slowly, like a cat stalking its prey. Sanada goes rigid in his chair. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, sir." Sanada reaches up, looking for the brim of the baseball cap he isn't wearing, wanting to retreat into it. Yukimura catches the wrist in a firm grip.

"Don't 'sir' me." Comes a whispered reply as Yukimura bends down, bringing himself to eye-level with the other man. The faint scent of cologne makes Sanada's heart skip a beat. It doesn't smell like something a man would normally use, but on Yukimura, the floral scent just feels so right.

"I..."

"Tell me I'm more than just SP Yukimura to you." Yukimura's hand lets go. He places them on the armrests of Sanada's chair, and smiles when Sanada covers them with his own. An answer enough.

Sanada closes his eyes when Yukimura presses a kiss between his brows, as if to kiss the constant frown away. His entire body relaxes, melts into the chair with that simple yet meaningful contact. Only Yukimura can do this to him.

They stay like this for almost half a minute before Sanada feels lips moving against his skin. "Come and see me tonight."

It isn't a question or a request, but even if it is, Sanada still wouldn't say no. He nods, then freezes when he hears two quick knocks at the door.

"Would you like some coffee... sir..."

The door opens, revealing a youth who has probably just hit adulthood standing on the other side. His voice trails off and large eyes widen. "I er..."

Yukimura's hands slip away from Sanada's grasp. The superintendent smiles, tilts his head to a side slightly as he thinks, then walks towards the young man at the door. "You're... Dan Taichi, yes?"

"Y-yes... Da- Da- Da- Dan desu! You're...?" Dan begins to blush furiously. He hates the way he always stammer when he's nervous.

A hand tugs Dan into the office, then reaches above the young man's head and pushes the door close. "I try to learn every new face that joins us." Yukimura's voice is reassuring. "I'm SP Yukimura Seiichi. I command this division."

"Ah I'm sor... sorry! I- I didn't know..."

"It's okay. I know you have only joined us last week and I've been too busy to come round and say hi."

The man's smile is so kind it makes Dan even more embarrassed. "Nice - nice to meet you desu!"

"Don't worry Dan, you haven't done anything wrong." Yukimura's fingers combs away the hair falling into Dan's eyes. Bending down, he kisses Dan on the forehead like a parent kisses his child. "I hope I haven't scared you. Would you still make me some coffee?"

"Of- of- of- course!" Completely in awe, Dan looks up at Yukimura as if there is a halo above the man's head. "I'll go and-"

"I'll go with you." Yukimura shifts his gaze to rest on Sanada and finds the man pale. He ignores the shocked look. "The arrangement is okay with you, isn't it."

"Yes."

"Let's go then, Dan." Dan finds himself ushered out of Sanada's office. "You can show me how that new coffee machine works. I've never quite figured it out..."

 

A while later, after Yukimura leaves their floor and Dan wanders to Sengoku's desk to pick up an empty mug, Sengoku claps the youth on the back.

"So you've come back out in one piece!" Sengoku grins, paying no attention to the look of confusion on Dan's face. "Say, did Sanada shout at you?"

"No... no."

"Good." Sengoku picks up a piece of scrap paper, scrunches it into a ball and tosses it towards Minami's desk. Minami fends off the projectile without even looking up.

"Lunch is on you, Minami!"

"I know, I know." Minami casts Sengoku a defeated look. After a moment, Dan understands.

"So that's why you told me to ask if the Chief Inspector wanted a drink! That was mean desu!"

"Well I didn't expect you to just knock and walk straight in, dear. Now, let Uncle Sengoku give you some advice." Sengoku, from his seat, wraps an arm around Dan's narrow shoulders and pulls the young man close to him. "When your superiors have a meeting with the blinds shut, don't disturb them. Ever. And wait until somebody say 'come in' after you've knocked. Works in every work place, and especially here. What's being discussed may be top secret. Got it?"

"Well it wasn't..." Can what Yukimura and Sanada be doing, or rather, what Yukimura was doing to Sanada, be a top secret? But the superintendent has kissed him too and it doesn't feel like it's anything wrong. Perhaps that's just the way Yukimura is...

"But I'll tell you something." Sengoku lowers his voice and looks around him first. Nobody else seems to be interested in what he is saying, so he continues. "Sanada's softer when Yukimura's around. I told Minami and he didn't believe me, but you just proved me right."

"Then shouldn't I be the one getting a free lunch?"

Sengoku arches a red eyebrow. "Right. Fine." The man grins again. "I betcha eat less than I do anyway. I'll pay for you, and Minami can pay for me and himself. Poor Minami!"

"Yes, I heard that, no need to shout!"

Sengoku just laughs when a scrunched ball of paper lands on his head.

 

"Were you jealous?"

Fingers dig into Sanada's hair, gripping it and pulling the head up. Forced to let the cock slip out of his mouth, Sanada looks up at the man sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What?" His hands reach forward to lift Yukimura's sweater, and he kisses and licks at the soft, pale skin revealed.

"This morning. That boy. Were you jealous?" Yukimura half gasps, half whispers, fingers letting go of Sanada as he hums in appreciation. Sanada takes him in his mouth again.

"No." The man says before he wraps his lips around the hot flesh, sucking it lightly.

Hands rest on the edge of the bed. "I was hoping..." Fingers begin to claw at the sheets, finally bunching, twisting them in the hands. The rest of Yukimura's words are lost when Sanada sucks harder, eventually bringing him to climax. A while later, Yukimura nudges the other man onto the bed and they have sex, with Sanada's legs spread and Yukimura above him, pushing himself in. They both pant and shudder and lose their minds to the pleasure.

They lay side-by-side, no parts of their bodies touching each other, when it is over. Sanada stares at the ceiling. Yukimura's eyes are closed.

"What were you hoping?"

Yukimura's eyes stay closed.

"That you would be jealous."

Yukimura's phone rings at that moment, cutting off anything that Sanada might have been wanting to say. Yukimura sits up, takes a look at the number and gets off the bed. Sanada's eyes follow the naked man until he leaves the bedroom for the study, with the phone in his hand. He thinks about going home and then reminds himself that there is no need to anymore.

Ten minutes later, Yukimura appears at the door again, draped with a velvet robe the colour of dried blood, still clutching the phone. "Sanada." He says, and the man understands.

Sanada gets up, gets dressed and gets out of the house. He never quite understands what Yukimura wants of him. One moment it is as if Yukimura has feelings for him, and even wants him to be jealous; another moment Yukimura may ask him to leave the house because of a phonecall.

At the window, watching Sanada's lone figure get into the car and drive away, Yukimura smiles to himself. He turns away and raises the phone to his ear again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In short, Sanada is Minami and Sengoku's boss, Yukimura is Sanada's boss. SP = superintendent of police. He isn't the top one there, but high enough and for this story I won't get any further up in ranking.


	5. We're going to have a date!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunter, the hunted, now add one more to the mix.

"One human life is heavier than the Earth." said Fukuda Takeo in 1977, when the Japanese government released six terrorists and paid six million US dollars ransom in exchange for the freedom of Japanese passengers in an airline hijack. Apparently since then, this quote has been used by judges, anti-suicide campaigners, anti-abortion activists and anyone who just doesn't want someone else to die.

Hiyoshi Wakashi disagrees with them all.

The weight of J.F. Kennedy's life was the weight of the bullet which killed him, 10 grams. The weight of Napoleon's life was the amount of arsenic it took to kill him, probably 200 milligrams.

If Hiyoshi is to do it the cheap way, about 35 pounds of pressure for 5 minutes is all that is needed to cause brain death by strangulation, or so the Master has told him once, not that Hiyoshi really cares about the actual numbers. Of course, process and results are equally important to him, but he leaves that sort of data to the Master. All Hiyoshi is interested in is data about one particular person: Yagyuu.

The overhyped, overrated, "the best out there" Yagyuu.

The Master has repeatedly told Hiyoshi to be patient, that his time will come, and if it isn't for the respect Hiyoshi has for the man, he would have grouped him with the rest of those stinking old farts up there who give the bright and young no chances to show themselves. How will his time ever come if all the projects ever he gets are measy little murders that won't even make it to the news? Wait until that Yagyuu retires, gets arrested or gets killed?

Of course. The Powers That Be have to stick to what they know, and they know that Yagyuu delivers. It's tradition to stick to what they know best so that their reputation is safe. But what they don't know is how much more Hiyoshi can give them. Hiyoshi can boost their reputation to be the very best organisation in the country. They will be renowned in the whole of the underworld and finally they will all see that Hiyoshi is the better man.

Just because somebody has come to the scene earlier, it doesn't mean he is the best.

_Gekokujyou_.

 

"The usual, please."

"Is that all?" Chew, chew, blow, pop. The redhaired man, probably in his mid-twenties, looks up from his manga to his customer, somehow chewing gum and speaking at the same time. "Go on, get some more stuff."

The customer blinks once, then leaves the till to see if there is anything else he needs from the corner store.

"I really do rely on income from this shop, yanno, I don't get paid much." The shopkeeper says when his customer comes back with a carton of milk, some tinned soup, fruit and cheese. "Every little helps." He pulls out the latest issue of the fashion magazine the customer has requested from the cupboard next to his legs. "Anything else you need? Fags, lighters, chewing gum, stamps, condoms?"

"No thank you."

"Come on." The man turns around to the shelves of cigarettes behind him. "Now which is the one you got last time... _Marlboro Lights_?"

"I don't need any." The customer says, but merely sighs when the other man sells him some chewing gum and condoms as well (both green apple flavoured). He pays and puts everything into the plastic bag the shopkeeper has shoved towards him.

"By the way, I saw the editor yesterday." The shopkeeper pauses, pops his gum, and the customer nods in recognition. "He said it's another boring article, if you don't like it you can return it to him. This doesn't affect your statutory rights."

"I see. Thank you." The customer just nods once more. "See you next time."

 

**N:** I've noticed something.

No reply. Niou taps the spacebar with his thumb, his chin in a hand. "Come on, show some interest."

**Y:** What is it?

**N:** You're working more than before.

**Y:** You had said that last time.

"You remember what I'd said." Niou grins at himself as he types his response. "I knew you were paying attention."

**N:** Yeah, but I never had to go right across the country before. Almost to the other side of the continent, yo. It'll be like a business trip!

**Y:** Is there a problem?

**N:** Naw, just curious why you'd go that far for a project that won't even be printed.

**Y:** You do not know anything about the project.

**N:** True, but instead of once every few months, I'm going out twice a month now. And the last few times I went on the sites, I didn't see anything interesting in the papers afterwards. (I didn't even know so many people want things done. Are they all vengeful lovers or something?)

**Y:** Do not try to find out anything about the projects.

**N:** I just said I read the papers. I'm an educated individual, you know? Or are you worried about me?  <3

**Y:** I worry about my job.

**N:** You could've at least lied :(

**Y:** Is the date acceptable?

**N:** A DATE! We're going to have a date!

**Y:** It will be the festive season. I can get a temporary substitution if you are not able to come to the site.

**N:** Well, I think it's very romantic that we're gonna spend it together. Don't you?

**Y:** No.

**N:** Don't be shy. Gotta go, see you on Christmas Day.

 

Niou arrives at the site on time, dressed in a white suit because he is feeling festive. As usual, he waits at the door first, although he doesn't know why he does this: if anything blows up or if he gets ambushed, there isn't much he can do anyway. Probably he only does this in case something has gone wrong and Yagyuu is still inside.

He knows that all he needs to do to see the man he works with (he works _with_ Yagyuu, not for Yagyuu; this is a very important point to him) is to arrive early at the site, when Yagyuu would still be inside. But Niou has never done this, and he will never do this.

The fact that he doesn't want to betray Yagyuu's trust plays a part. Besides, he can't think of what he can do or say if he really finds Yagyuu - that is, if Yagyuu doesn't kill him on the spot. (Niou doesn't think that will happen, but if Yagyuu doesn't know what he looks like and finds this stranger in his room whilst he is, oh, cleaning his equipment... there are just too many possibilities.) And where would the fun be if they meet like that, anyway? If Yagyuu chooses to not show his face (he thinks Yagyuu is a man), Niou is happy to play along. It is a game where the winner is the one who gets the other to find him in person first.

Yagyuu is good at his job, Niou knows that. But is Yagyuu good at this game? Whilst Niou lets himself fantasise about this person he has never met, what does Yagyuu think about Niou? Niou has told Yagyuu that he spends time in the beds Yagyuu has slept on, but does Yagyuu care?

Smoking the cigarette Yagyuu has left for him after two hours of work (work comes before pleasure; he is a professional), Niou looks out the windows beside him. Strange that Yagyuu always chooses rooms where the bed is right next to the window. Not that it's that dangerous, unless Yagyuu has enemies or if somebody discovers he is who he is. Perhaps it's a personal preference. Or perhaps...

He finishes his smoke, kicks off his shoes and swings his legs onto the bed, then buries himself under the very, very thick duvet.

It is still warm.

It is still fucking warm.

Niou's mind quickly tracks back to when he entered the building two hours ago, trying to recall the faces he has seen in the streets nearby, and those he saw when he entered the building. But his fingers are already opening his shirt, unbuckling his belt and pulling down the zipper on his pants. Turned on his side, face half buried in the pillow, it is almost as if he can feel Yagyuu's warmth, as if Yagyuu is on top of him, touching him. His body begins to respond in no time at all, the flesh in his hands stiffening with the briefest touch. One hand begins to stroke whilst the other rests on his chest, fingers playing with a nipple. He gasps at the sensation, a delicious pressure that originates from the places his hands are touching and spreads throughout his body, as if he has never felt it before.

This is Yagyuu touching him, Yagyuu pinning him down and stroking him.

Niou lowers his other hand to cradle the balls as he continues to pump, faster, and faster. The faceless man in his mind holds him, wants him. The man says, with ragged breath, "Niou." and Niou answers, "Ah...", and Niou knows it is just him all along but it doesn't matter, he can play Yagyuu's role as well. He imagines himself releasing into Yagyuu's hand and feels Yagyuu squeeze harder, milking every last drop out of him.

He takes deep breaths through his mouth until his lungs no longer scream for air and his heart doesn't threaten to burst. Then he opens his eyes. It is dark outside. Looking towards the window, he sees nothing but his own reflection.


	6. "I love being the good dog."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He leaves you confused and wanting more. And sometimes you cannot help but wonder: whose side is he really on?

The hill overlooks much of the city. Heavy fog hangs over, blurring all that is in sight, but the white Mercedes sails through with ease as if the driver knows the way by heart. He pulls over at the large gravel-covered area near a long disused barbecue spot, and slides out of the vehicle with an odd grace.

He finds the other man waiting for him at the pagoda, arms crossed loosely and narrowed eyes looking forward at nothing in particular, as if daydreaming. As he approaches, footfalls soft yet steady, the man lifts his chin slightly, smiles and turns towards him.

"You're early." The man who has been waiting says, without checking his watch. The other man smiles in return and doesn't stop walking until they can easily brush hands with each other. He stands several inches shorter but the closeness between them has made them disregard this difference long ago.

"The Master still runs on his own internal clock." The smile turns into a chuckle.

"Don't you start to call me that as well." The taller man frowns lightly, but shakes his head and sighs when the other man's chuckle bubbles over to gentle laughter. "They are inventing new names for me again. One of them is referring to me as the Editor."

"It suits you."

"Perhaps."

The taller man blinks and opens his eyes wide in mild surprise when the other man reaches up and threads fingers through his black hair. As he bends down and they kiss, he can feel the man's breath, a light mist in the cold morning air, brush over his face. His arms drop to his sides but he makes no move to hold the smaller man.

"My Master." The shorter man says when they break the kiss and he looks up into small, dark eyes. "My Renji. I missed you."

The taller one, Yanagi Renji, seems completely unaffected by the words. He knows this man too well already to believe in anything he says, at least anything of this nature. But he allows himself to help the other man tuck a lock of strayed hair behind an ear.

"This isn't why we are meeting up, is it."

The air between them is broken. The smaller man pulls back, as if to respect Yanagi's wishes. "I just want to hear an update, and then give some instructions."

Yanagi holds back a sigh of both loss and relief.

"All is well. Orders are slow, but this is consistent with the figures from previous Christmas periods."

"And my children?"

"Don't say that, it makes you sound older than you are."

"I know I'm very young to be doing what I'm doing, Renji. But apparently this makes me a legend and the sound of it makes me feel old."

Yanagi feels the other's gaze absorb his soul and his heart goes to this man just like that. He always does this as effortlessly as it is to blink. Closing his eyes, Yanagi draws a shuddering breath of icy air. "Would you like me to help you feel young again?"

There, he has lost again. Yanagi scrapes his lips with his teeth and waits in the darkness of his mind for the man's response, his eyes staying shut but the thin, straight lashes flickering. They open again when he feels fingertips ghost across his face. The other man is smiling.

"Thank you, Renji." _But no,_ Yanagi hears in the brief pause that follows. "I love you." _only when you are useful and not nearly as much as I love myself_ , the air whispers into his ears.

The smaller man is the one who breaks the moment first, casting his gaze towards the awakening city before them.

"So, the others?"

"Mostly as usual. Yagyuu, for reasons I have not found out yet, is working three times as much as he used to compared with this time last year."

"To work up a retirement fund, maybe?" The man muses.

"Perhaps. Not many of us have that privilege of a retirement bonus."

"Renji."

"My apologies."

"If Yagyuu wouldn't tell you why, leave him alone. Let them have the freedom as long as there are enough projects to go around."

"There are several who are slowing down like I told you last time, so projects are not a problem even at times like these." The amount of hatred and wrath amongst the people in this city is shocking. At any time, there is always someone who wants someone else dead and is willing to pay for it to happen.

"Excellent." The smaller man crosses his arms and half turns towards Yanagi, a smile dancing across thin lips. "And how is our latest addition getting on?"

The question makes Yanagi sigh. Not that he dislikes that child, but... "Hiyoshi is too impatient. I don't think he is yet capable of larger projects, although he keeps asking for them. He is a fast learner, but still lacks experience and the ability to make judgement in changing situation. His fixation to display his skills at every opportunity available can be his downfall."

"Hiyoshi listens to you, Master." Yanagi presses his lips together in a frown when the other man says the nickname with a hint of a chuckle. "Teach him. But keep a lid on him, don't listen to his demands until the time is right."

"You seem to be particularly interested in Hiyoshi."

"He is an intriguing child." The smaller man replies. "He will have his uses."

 _Just as everyone has their use to you._ Yanagi filters the words before they reach his lips. He looks out to the brightened sky, holding back the rush of emptiness that has always followed him. "You should get going."

The smaller man nods. "Make sure everyone stays put on the second week of January. I don't want accidents." He strokes Yanagi's face. "Especially you."

Yanagi fights the urge to catch the hand, and nods.

The smaller man smiles, and once again reaches up and kisses Yanagi, slowly and sensually, slipping his tongue into the taller man's mouth and not stopping when Yanagi grasps the tops of his arms hesitantly. When he pulls away, Yanagi's face is slightly flushed.

"I..." He starts, feeling himself tremble on the inside. "Seiichi, I love you." He mouths the words. The hand on his cheek lowers, fingers tracing the lines of his lips briefly as if to feel the weight and truth of the inaudible words.

Yukimura Seiichi goes back to his car and makes his way downhill without looking back at all.

Only when the car is completely out of sight does Yanagi dare to breathe normally again. And even then, the scent of the man still lingers, like a drug whose effects on his senses will never fade.

 

Sometimes, when Niou is bored (which happens less often than anyone may think, but still pretty often), he likes to hop on a bus without looking at where it may take him, particularly at night time when the drivers make their vehicles go so fast they almost take off from the road. Niou likes to open the window wide and let the wind rip through his hair and beat on his face.

Sometimes he gets off the bus every ten stops or so and takes another one, and then another one, until he no longer knows where he is. It doesn't matter because he knows he cannot get too far away, Rithonia being an island, a city of its own, detached from the rest of the world.

Sometimes the bus takes Niou from one end of the island to another, a journey that takes only several hours given the traffic free hours and the way the buses race through the city. It may be a particular spot Niou has not discovered yet, and he would sit near the edge, climbing over any fencing there is, and wait until morning comes. The island, like a tall piece of rock that sticks out from the sea (he describes it as an erect cock standing up from its nest of hair), is mostly surrounded by cliffs and it all looks the same, so Niou doesn't know why he likes doing this. But he does. Perhaps it is the fact that he has no idea where he is, only that he is at a place where he can roam around and then go home when he is tired. He may lose his bearings, not able to tell north from south, but if he looks for the sunrise come morning, he can always navigate his way back. Not that he goes home on foot. He just likes to know where he is. Sometimes.

He glances at his watch, which tells him it is 11:12am, when he gets home. Every time he looks at it he thinks Yagyuu has deliberately chosen this as his birthday present. A _Tag Heuer_. Tag. He strokes its surface once with his thumb before fishing out keys from his pockets for the door.

"Niou."

The initial surprise is quickly overwritten by curiosity as Niou searches for the source of the voice and sees Yanagi standing at the elevator. Raising an eyebrow, he opens the door and invites Yanagi inside.

"Water, beer, grapefruit juice?" He asks as he kicks off his sneakers and Yanagi shuts the door behind them.

"Juice would be nice."

"Go help yourself. It's in the fridge."

They look at each other for a moment, then Niou rolls his eyes and throws his hands up in mock frustration. "Sure, go sit down, I'll get you a drink." He waves the other man towards the sofa as he goes to the open plan kitchen to get them both some bitter fruit juice.

"Is that how you always treat your guests?" Yanagi asks, amused.

"I don't get visitors." is Niou's reply. He puts down two glasses of juice and drops himself onto a pile of large cushions on the floor. "So what've I done to warrant your visit?"

Yanagi takes his time to drink the juice and makes Niou wait. Glancing at the other man after a minute, he finds Niou sitting still, arms relaxed on the cushions, not moving at all.

"You've changed." Yanagi comments, looking thoughtful. Niou has grown and become more refined despite his ragged exterior. There is a sad sort of stillness, a kind of indescribable depth within the man, one which Yanagi didn't see the last time they met over two years ago and one he recognises right away.

Niou holds Yanagi's gaze, aware that his visitor is analysing him, like he does with everyone. But it doesn't matter; Niou has nothing to hide. "Everyone changes."

A fine answer enough. Yanagi isn't going to ask about Niou's personal life anyway.

"I will be shutting down the system from the ninth of January, for a week. Stay put and don't get into any trouble during that time."

Niou takes a moment to digest this. "Is that all? You've come here just to tell me this?"

"It is an order directly from the top."

"And so you've come to deliver the message. Good doggy."

"...You have a record of following orders selectively if they are given over the system." Yanagi doesn't even flinch. "This is to make sure you have received the instructions and understood its seriousness. You cannot clean up after yourself."

Nice one. Niou sits back and they both drink the juice as they consider the insults they have given each other.

"Hey," Niou breaks the silence after a while. "Do you know what the hell's up with Yagyuu?"

"No, but I can slow him down if you find the workload too much."

Which is not the case. "Just wondering."

Yanagi finishes his drink, gets up and leaves the glass in the sink. Niou walks him to the door. It isn't like he really doesn't know how to treat a guest.

"Niou, do you mind if I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer me." Yanagi half turns from the door, his hand on the knob. His gaze lowered, it looks as though his eyes are shut. "Why do you do this?"

"Why?" Interesting question. Niou smirks. "Because I can't wipe my own arse but I can do it for others." Yagyuu, specifically. "I love my job. You?"

Yanagi gives the question some serious consideration.

"The same as you. I love being the good dog."

They stare at each other. A small smile spreads on Yanagi's face, and Niou's smirk turns into a grin.

"Then aren't we lucky bastards."

After Yanagi leaves, Niou cups the watch on his wrist with the palm of a hand, and suddenly wants to meet Yagyuu more than ever.


	7. A mini-Sanada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Dan, Sanada and Minami watch the party unfold, what is going on in their minds?

Large eyes, depicting awe, curiosity and wonder, look around the party hall of the hotel. Feet stopping just shy of the doorway, Dan Taichi gazes at the casually-dressed, yet smart-looking crowd, the sound of their chatter mingling with the jazz music being played by the live band on stage.

So this is why people call Rithonia "The City". The people, the wealth, the... everything about this place is extraordinary. Even though he has turned up in his best clothes - and he is so glad he has ignored Sengoku's comment that "it's very casual" - Dan feels decidedly out of place. Perhaps he should go home. Backing away from the door, he stumbles, falling backwards into somebody's arms.

"Ah! I'm so sorry desu!" He tries to stand up properly, only to fall again, and this time a pair of hands catch him by the shoulders to steady him. Blushing in embarrassment, Dan spins around and says something unintelligible, probably another apology.

Superintendent Yukimura smiles down at the young man. "I'm sorry, have I scared you?"

"No desu!" Dan says, suddenly aware that he is blocking the doorway. He steps aside so that Yukimura can enter the hall.

"Aren't you going to join the party?" Yukimura asks softly, ignoring the other people behind him, waiting for the way through. As Dan hesitates and glances at the ongoing party longingly, one of Yukimura's hands lands on his shoulder again, gently pushing him inside.

"Sir..." Dan looks up at the man.

"We're all off duty now." Yukimura bends down a little, bringing his lips close to Dan's ear as if sharing a secret. "Forget the formalities."

"Ah... okay."

"Good. You look very nice tonight, Taichi. I'm sure you'll blend in very well."

"Er..."

"And I don't think you realise one thing..." Yukimura pauses for effect, eyes scanning the room as they stop under the huge chandelier, adorned with crystals, hanging from the ceiling. "Out of everyone here, I think you're the most knowledgeable."

Dan blinks. Beside him, Yukimura has spotted Minami and is waving him over.

"I'm sorry?"

"You know how each one of us like our coffee, what we like to eat at tea time, if we like our paperwork stapled or paperclipped. It may not seem much, but habits say a lot about a person - a friend of mine told me that once, and he's very good at observing people." Yukimura stops, and adds, with a chuckle, "You have the entire division at your fingertips. You can cause chaos simply by swapping everyone's coffees around for one day; you can easily kill the entire division with poison, not that I'm suggesting you to do so.

"Knowledge is power, Taichi. No matter how insignificant an issue may be, there's always something to be learned." The older man slowly stands straight, the face of Yanagi Renji flashing across his mind's eyes. "Make Minami get you a drink. You deserve it."

 

 

Sanada's gaze follows Yukimura around the hall, not wanting to pay attention to himself or the rest of the crowd. He knows he is being stared at, probably by people wondering why he has come to the annual Christmas party on his own, but his divorce is _his_ divorce, Sanada doesn't feel that he has to explain it to anyone.

Except, maybe, Yukimura.

Yukimura is dressed in a casual white suit, with a shirt the same blue as his hair, which has been tied back to give the man a chic look. Some curls falling from the sides frame a face with features so delicate one can mistake him for a woman if not for the strong jawline. Completely at ease, Yukimura is talking with the Mayor who has stopped by to give his season greetings. Sanada chooses to stay put with his white wine and just watch. Socialising is simply not his thing. Parties, in general, are not his thing, but the division's annual Christmas party is not something he can get out of. It doesn't matter if he doesn't go over to greet the Mayor though, so he just hangs back and watches Yukimura work his magic on people.

Yukimura is so beautiful.

Sanada imagines this man in his arms, gloriously naked and giving him a cryptic smile. He imagines this man pinning him down on the bed, kissing him, commanding him, taking control the way he always does. Taking a deep breath, he puts down his glass of wine on the table just behind him. That has just been his last glass of wine for the night.

A while later, the Mayor moves on and Yukimura walks over to Sanada, champagne in hand.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Sanada doesn't reply because an answer isn't required.

"I didn't expect to see you alone." Yukimura continues, gesturing towards the crowd and chuckling. "A lot of our female staff are eyeing you."

They're probably looking at you, Sanada thinks. "Layla and I are getting divorced." He replies, his voice flat, emotionless. Black eyes search Yukimura's face, trying to see if this new information will invoke any particular reaction.

Yukimura sips the champagne in his hand, looking thoughtful for a second. Then he meets Sanada's gaze. "I'd say I'm sorry to hear that, but then I'd be lying." A strange look flits across Yukimura's features, something Sanada can't decipher. But that isn't anything to be surprised about - even though they have known each other for years, Yukimura has always been a mystery to him.

Yukimura is the one who introduced him to his soon-to-be-ex-wife. And the one who seduced him two months before he married. And the one who offered to and eventually took care of the rings at the wedding. Despite their intimacy, Sanada has never managed to understand this man.

The long table behind Sanada prevents him from stepping back when the faint scent of cologne brings his mind back to the present. Only inches from him, Yukimura leans forward, a hand rested on Sanada's chest for support whilst the other reaches round the man to place his empty champagne glass on the table.

The hand on Sanada trails down. Sanada swallows hard. Yukimura chuckles softly, standing straight again before motioning his tall friend to bend down so that he can speak into his ear.

"You look very good tonight." The hand plays with the collar of Sanada's jacket.

No, you do, Sanada thinks.

Yukimura grips the material in his hand briefly. "But I want to rip all of this off you." He gives the jacket a tug. "Now."

No verbal response comes from Sanada. The taller man is not known to blush, but he can feel a heat beginning to spread through him, and it cannot just be due to the wine. His gaze flickers and he blinks, shocked at the way he is reacting to Yukimura's words.

None of it escapes Yukimura's eyes. "I've got a room upstairs." He says, and smiles just a little more. "I suppose you have your pager on you?"

 

 

Across the hall, Minami watches his two seniors speak to each other in a somewhat secretive-looking manner. Then all of a sudden, Yukimura pulls away and they both extract a small black gadget from their pockets. Within moments they are moving towards the exit.

A duty call during a party. If Minami doesn't know Yukimura and Sanada both as workaholics, he would feel sorry for them. As it is, Sanada is probably glad he can get out of here.

"Are they leaving already?" Carrying a plate of finger-food, Dan follows Minami's gaze, just able to catch the pair leaving the hall.

Minami shrugs. "Seems like they got a duty call. Depends on what it is... they might come back later, maybe?"

"Duty call?"

"Emergency situations, intel that requires immediate attention, stuff like that. Doubt it's emergency though, if they're the only ones to get paged."

Dan nods in understanding. "But they do seem to be together a lot desu."

"Well the Superintendent and Chief Inspector do have to work closely - "

"That, and they're close anyway." A voice butts in, making Minami jump. "Ah, sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." Sengoku grins when Minami spins around. The annoyed look only makes him grin wider. "Just, you know, interesting conversation going on here."

Minami rolls his eyes. Dan lifts his plate towards Sengoku. "You mean Yukimura and Sanada are close friends?"

Sengoku takes a fried dumpling from Dan and speaks as he eats. "They went to the same schools, joined the cadets on the same year and then joined the same division. Hmm, nice!" He gestures for Minami to try the food too. "So I'd say they've known each other for 15, 20 years."

"That long! They must be good friends desu!"

"There's more." Sengoku continues, glad to find someone interested in his gossip. "Sanada's always been Yukimura's right-hand man. Yukimura's swordarm, if you'd say. Class presidency, school clubs, and in our division, all these years Sanada's been supporting Yukimura."

"And why do you know all this?" Minami swallows his food and asks, feeling skeptical.

"I just think our Superintendent is quite interesting, and asked around a bit about him."

Sengoku knows he isn't the only one who looks at Yukimura with interest. Yukimura had solved many large cases over the years to land himself on such a high position at a considerably young age, making him something near a legend. Yukimura is good looking, kind, strong, intelligent, and powerful. Something doesn't feel right about this man. He is too perfect, as if everything that surrounds him is a beautifully painted screen, drawn so well, blends so well with the surroundings that no one notices it is there until something hidden behind pounces out and eats you alive.

Or, Sengoku knows deep in his psyche, he could just simply be jealous of Yukimura because Yukimura has everything, including a friend who pushes him higher and higher, supporting him in everything that he does, all through his life. It's a friendship built on support and sacrifice. Would anyone be willing to make such sacrifice and always be the second in line for him? Sengoku doesn't think so, not even Minami would do that.

Working at this division, as Sengoku sees it, is a dead end; there is no way he can rise much higher in his career as long as Yukimura and Sanada are there. Yukimura is still a long way away from retirement, and if the man becomes Senior Superintendent, he wouldn't work on this island anymore. If Sengoku is in that position, he'd rather stay put and be in charge of the island rather than move away and look after a larger area. Men who live here develop a certain passion for this place; it's hard to imagine Yukimura letting go of this, particularly when it means Sanada wouldn't work by his side anymore.

But even so, Sengoku doesn't want to work elsewhere. Aside from his attachment to Rithonia, Sanada is an inspiring man for whom he wants to work. Some may say Sanada is stupid, but Sengoku respects the man for his dedication to both his work and his friends. Sanada doesn't work to live; he truly works for the community. Sengoku wants to support this man.

Which probably makes him a mini-Sanada, but what's wrong with that?

"So," He swipes the last bit of food from Dan's plate, and smiles. "how are you enjoying Rithonia, my dear Dan?"

Dan seems surprised by the random question. "Uh yeah, I like it here."

Minami smiles, and Sengoku nods in approval. "The City has a certain power to tugs at our souls, I think." He muses, and chuckles softly, his voice dropping to a whisper, although he doesn't know why. "There is nothing better than living and dying at a place where your soul belongs."


	8. "It won't take long."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot can happen in one week, and this is just the beginning.

**N:** A week. Do you know what's going to happen?

**N:** Honey you there?

**Y:** Likely some kind of police investigation. This has happened before. It is a precautionary action only.

Niou smirks. So it seems like they have somebody working in the force.

**N:** I mean what's going to happen to me! I can't talk to you for a week :(

**Y:** You and I only talk here twice a month or so usually.

**N:** But it'll be a week of /forced/ silence. See the difference?

**Y:** You will live.

Niou stares at the screen, his smirk widening to something predatory. This is the first time his partner is giving a reaction to his ceaseless teasing. He takes a moment to consider his response, then fingertips dance over the keyboard again.

**N:** <3!

**N:** Tell me, are you going to miss me?

**N:** You will, won't you. I know.

When a message on the screen tells Niou that Yagyuu has logged out, he snickers to himself. His instinct can't be wrong; there is something between them. And Yagyuu must know it too.

 

Hiyoshi would say the gods were helping him, only he doesn't believe in any god. Shutting down for a week in the New Year. The Master hasn't said why and he doubts they are forcing everyone to have a holiday. Something is going to happen and they have to severe connections for the interest of safety.

One week of no communications. When they turn the computers and phones back on seven days later, they'll find Yagyuu has disappeared from the face of the Earth. Only the best survives; whilst it is a shame to dispose of someone with great talents, Hiyoshi is even better so there really will be no great loss.

It's time.

 

**N:** btw, I heard some rumours the other day.

Niou waits for Yagyuu to decide to express interest. It doesn't matter if Yagyuu is interested in what Niou has to say or not. Even if he just asks for the sake of continuing the conversation, Niou has achieved something. Yagyuu probably knows this too. It only depends on whether he feels like baiting back, by taking the bait.

**Y:** Rumours?

**N:** That there aren't many of the likes of me anymore. A lot of contractors work on their own without getting a partner to do the cleaning up. We're an outdated concept that's being phased out.

**Y:** I do not know how others in the business operate.

**N:** Don't fucking lie to me.

**Y:** You cannot only have just heard about this.

Niou sneers at the monitor. Yeah so what that he's lying too.

The long silence that follows gnaws at his stomach. And then he sees words appear on his screen.

**Y:** I find our partnership to be a beneficial one. You will not be dropped.

Niou's hand slaps his knee, and he begins to laugh, soft and low at first, and then he allows it to rip through his whole being.

He won't be dropped. Now they're talking. There are no reasons for Yagyuu's choice other than he likes him.

**N:** j00 R0X0RS!

**Y:** Thank you. Basic pay and job security, both are physiological needs in Maslow's.

Niou grins at his monitor. Little by little, Yagyuu is revealing more of himself through their conversations. Niou doesn't doubt this being a conscious choice because Yagyuu is Yagyuu and Yagyuu doesn't accidentally slip in any way, shape or form. And this means...

**N:** Then we can talk business. Ever read that book by Rex Feral?

**Y:** Yes. Memories are vague, however.

**N:** But do you remember the chapter about the ideal partner? Let's take our relationship to a higher level. I'll keep doing what I do, but if you teach me the other skills then I can be your proper assistant.

**Y:** There is no such need.

**N:** But there is such desire. I'm considering my career prospects here. Remember Maslow?

No response from Yagyuu.

**N:** I can be your backup. I can carry your things. I can distract so that you can move in. Some things are just so much better with two people don't you think? I'm getting bored of my own hand but I don't feel like it with anyone else.

**Y:** Physiological needs are of the lowest level. I believe we have just covered that.

**N:** But you want me too.

**Y:** As I have said, I have no need for a full time partner. But if you so wish, I can give it some consideration.

**N:** Cool. I'm 5'9", weigh around 136 pounds, I've got a thin face, with bleached white hair. Think white porcupine with a rat tail at the back.

**Y:** Excuse me?

**N:** Well if you're gonna go jack off now, it's better if you have a face to put to a name isn't it?

Yagyuu doesn't answer, but Niou doesn't expect him to. There are different ways of playing this game. Yagyuu tries to not lose whereas Niou tries to win.

**N:** I think it'll be good for us both. Sleep on it  <3

 

The man is easily overpowered, having not eaten for three days. But still, he is large and Hiyoshi can't pick him up, so instead he nudges the man with a foot, lifting the shaven head with the tip of his shoe. Still conscious. Hiyoshi crouches down and waits for his captive to lift his gaze from the floor.

"Why don't you get back into the room." Hiyoshi says, pointing at a door down the end of the corridor. There isn't even a smile on his face but it is as if his eyes are filled with manic laughter. "Be a good boy and stay there. Don't force me to break your ankles. I'm addicted to the sounds of bones breaking and once I start, I can't stop."

The man on the floor shudders. Arms still bound behind his back as he had thought Hiyoshi was asleep and there was no time to try to free them before the escape, the man rolled onto his side and gasped at the sharp, stabbing pain that shoots down the left side of his chest. Broken ribs?

"Why?" The man blinks away the sweat from the pain and the earlier struggle. HIs voice is weak and coarse. "I don't..." He takes a deep breath and feels the pain in his chest. "...have ...any money..."

"I don't like your hair."

The man on the floor stares at his captor in shock. Hiyoshi stands up. Why bother telling this baldy his real purpose? It'll just be a waste of his precious time. "Go on, back to the room you go." He nudges the man with his foot again, and reaches for the mallet on a desk nearby when there is no response. Hands bound and hurting, it takes the captive a while to get up and balance himself. Hiyoshi quickly checks the man over by feeling for his ribs - good, nothing is broken enough to pierce the lungs. He needs this man alive.

Once back in the room where the man had escaped from in the first place, Hiyoshi gives his captive a rough shove so that he loses balance and lands shoulder-first on the wooden floor. Today's newspaper is then tossed onto the floor beside him (old methods still work best, like the Master has said once), then Hiyoshi extracts a tiny video camera from his pocket. He films the bald man collapsed on the floor, zooms in on the newspaper, and then on the man's pained expression.

"Jackal, say cheese."

The man gapes at the camera. Hiyoshi presses "stop" as soon as Jackal moves his lips. That should be dramatic enough.

 

 

**Y:** There is a backup communication point in case of emergencies.

**N:** Damn, couldn't you tell me this earlier? Not like, half an hour before blackout?

**Y:** I had to obtain approval first. The address is the opposite of the current one. Login by spelling the server name and your username backwards. The password stays the same.

**N:** Cool stuff.

**Y:** That server is only online for a specific time window each day for the duration of the "blackout". Conversations are not recorded at that server. I also cannot leave messages for you to arrange a meeting time on the network. Therefore can you login at 26:00 daily so that I can pass you any special instructions or emergency jobs?

**N:** Have I ever said no to you? I look forward to any "special instructions" ;)

 

The shopkeeper replaces the phone onto its stands with more force than necessary. He pauses, stares at the phone, picks it up and dials rapidly again before pressing it to his ear.

Where the hell is he?

Jackal has never been late, not to mention not showing up at all, in the years they have known each other. So where the hell can he be? It's been two days and no one is answering any calls.

The shopkeeper pops another piece of gum into his mouth and chews on it impatiently. Eyes straying towards the front door, he sees the sky is already the colour of blood oranges. He should close early and go to Jackal's place and ram his door down. Business is just a trickle anyway, and with the system down, no one cares if he opens and closes on time or not. He lets the phone ring twice more and then puts it back down. The cash tray of the cashier pops out when he hits a button, and he begins to collect the money into the box he will take home with him.

He nearly groans when a long drawn shadow on the floor tells him someone has just entered the shop. Why do people only ever buy stuff when he's about to close? He looks up and for a moment all he can see is the outline of a man surrounded by flames, but it is only because the man is walking towards him, his back to the setting sun.

When the man gets closer and the shopkeeper's eyes adjust, he finds himself staring at a kid, or at most a very young man. A pair of very small, narrowed eyes stare straight back at him. He stops chewing on the gum in his mouth. What a creepy-looking kid.

"Yeah, so. Fags, lottery tickets, stamps, lighters, condoms, gum? What do you want?"

"Yagyuu."

The shocked silence that follows is dramatic.

"Who are you?"

"Hiyoshi Wakashi." Eyes finally leaving the shopkeeper's, Hiyoshi takes out a small machine from the padded bag he is holding. Carefully he places the portable DVD player on the counter, switches it on and turns it around for the shopkeeper to watch.

Jackal!

"You!" The shopkeeper lunges forward, arms reaching across the counter but grabs only air when Hiyoshi steps back.

"Give me Yagyuu and I'll give you back your friend." There is no hint of triumph in Hiyoshi's voice, but the carefully contained excitement is still audible. It sends a chill down the shopkeeper's spine.

"I can't! The system's just gone down and I don't know how to find him!"

The short video on the screen reaches its end and repeats. The shopkeeper gapes at the images, taking in the bound hands and the strange way Jackal is writhing on the floor.

"Leave him alone! He doesn't know anything!"

"He still doesn't." Hiyoshi finally stops the video. He takes the disc out and slips it into a plastic sleeve from his coat pocket. "You are the contact point, so do the contacting."

"Well then I know how to contact -"

"Do you think they will care?"

Once again the shopkeeper loses his words. Yagyuu may be their most prized contractor, but the system has been shut down for a reason and those up there won't risk their own safety for this. Even at normal times it's unlikely they will do anything unless things go seriously out of control. Better to let them quabble on their own. If they attract attention then they will deal with the consequences themselves.

"I don't have all day."

The shopkeeper bites his lips, gets a memo pad and scribbles a set of numbers and English letters onto it. He looks away as Hiyoshi pockets the note. He hardly knows Yagyuu anyway, and if doing this gives him a chance to save Jackal, that is what he will do. If anything comes back to him, well, he's being blackmailed!

Hiyoshi puts everything back into his bag. "I will have another task for you in the next few days." Small eyes look dispassionately at the other man. "When I have Yagyuu, you will have your friend."

"How would I know you aren't hurting him?!" The shopkeeper yells as Hiyoshi turns to leave. Hiyoshi pauses, and looks over his shoulder, the sunset once again outlining his frame like a ring of fire.

"It won't take long."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the book by Rex Feral which Niou has mentioned, there is a particular part that talks about an "ideal partner" who will share equal profit and risk, can provide distraction, safe sex, unflinching backup and intelligent insight which will help to plan jobs. You can probably find out more about the book if you google.


	9. Pawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sengoku learns a bit more about Yukimura... or does he?

The entire floor is eerily silent. The sense of disappointment (or for some, relief), anticipation, the whole "it's going to happen now" is so strong the air seems to be crackling with the pressure. Upstairs in one of the meeting rooms, Superintendent Yukimura, Chief Inspector Sanada and ten other officers are going through the details of what is going to be a week's worth of crime crackdown, which shall include everything from petty to organised crime.

The lead in Sengoku's pencil snaps. The small sound seems to be magnified by the silence, and everyone looks up, glances at Sengoku's direction, then looks away again to mind their own business. Sengoku clicks his pencil several times and resumes writing.

Damn.

Damn.

Ten officers, hand-picked by Yukimura and Sanada for the operation. And he is sitting here comparing verbal evidence from some kids who have defaced the facade of the public library. Why isn't he in that meeting? Why... and he doesn't want to put it this way, but if Minami can be there, why can't he? It is more than obvious that he is better than Minami, both in terms of experience and general intuitions, skills, everything. So why Minami and not him?

Sengoku flops back into his chair and stares up at the old spinning fan hanging from the ceiling. Can it be his bad luck? Ever since that murder, which they still haven't managed to solve and the media had blown into an epic sensation, nothing seems to have gone right at all. One of his very few sources of intel is dead, Sanada has allocated the investigation to someone else (Sengoku hasn't asked who but he knows this is the case since Sanada hasn't slammed the desk at him anymore about it), and even sweet little Dan has made himself scarce, no longer spending as much time as he used to lingering around Sengoku's desk.

What can it be? Bad feng shui? Somebody backstabbing him? Or perhaps because he failed to deliver anything for that murder case, he has got on Sanada's bad side and now things can only go downhill?

"Has it been a long day?"

A slow, annoyed turn of his head, and Sengoku sees Yukimura standing next to him. He sits back up properly straight away, as if on springs. The meeting must have just finished, because he sees Minami dumping a bundle of documents and maps onto his own desk.

"Sengoku," His hands behind his back, Yukimura just smiles. "could you please come with me?"

 

"I was going to ask one of them to get you for me, but it's better if I came to you, I think."

Yukimura leads the way out of the main office area, and they take the lift down. Sengoku takes note of the serious, oppressing atmosphere, the way Yukimura's voice bounces off the metal walls of the elevator, and the way the man has chosen to stand near to the back, but not leaning against the wall. The time is 19:33. A camera mounted above them is recording their every move, Yukimura is showing no-

...Why is he analysing all this?

"What is it, si-" He cuts himself off. Yukimura doesn't like using formalities. "...Yukimura?"

The doors open when they reach the basement floor, and Yukimura leads again, past the mini-gym and towards the shooting range. For once, it is empty of people. Sengoku cannot guess what is going on, but he signs out for a revolver and two sets of six bullets after the other man has done so. It reminds him of, on TV, those business meetings at golf driving ranges, only when you have a gun in your hands and hearing protection on your ears, you don't listen to each other talking. You just focus.

Sengoku hasn't done this in a while, and, he has to admit, he has never been very good with the firearms. After one round of bullets, the board is brought forward and he frowns at his score. Yukimura, as expected, is a very good marksman. Not Olympic pedigree, but enough to show his class and enough to maim or kill, depending on the circumstances.

So this is why they are here. Yukimura's showing him why he hasn't been picked for the team.

Sengoku lowers his gun and empties the shells from it. He understands now, so there is no need to waste more bullets or time on this. He will practice and he will get better, but in his own time, not right now when Yukimura is watching. He doesn't want to look like he is trying to impress his senior.

He looks up when the hearing protection is lifted from his head. Yukimura is standing beside him, his own equipment put aside.

"Load the gun again."

Sengoku pauses, but does as he is told, a little stiffly because he is being watched.

"Aim."

Sengoku goes rigid when Yukimura steps behind him, and a hand ghosts to his midriff, feeling upwards.

"You have to use your waist as well. Shoulders and arms alone can't take the backward forces, even if you have Sanada's build. You won't only not hit your target, you might also hurt yourself. Use your abdominal muscles." The hand presses down gently just under Sengoku's ribs, tracing the faint outline of muscles under the man's shirt. Yukimura's other hand grab's Sengoku's right hand, and he lines their arms together. "Up a little. They say you look down the barrel, but you don't really look _down_."

Sengoku says nothing. He doesn't know what he should say when his senior is literally pressed up against him and holding him like this. He can smell Yukimura's shampoo.

But suddenly Yukimura releases him and steps back, and the rush of sudden coldness makes Sengoku want to shiver all the more.

"Go on."

"How about -"

"You don't get anything for your ears when you're out there. Just fire."

The sound of gunpowder exploding, one two three four five six times, deafens Sengoku temporarily. He doesn't hear the pulleys bringing his board forward, but he does hear the "Well done," from Yukimura, and after a few moments, the man adds, chuckling, "but don't tell the instructor about this, he'd get mad at me."

Sengoku has obtained a score better than ever before. He stares the the board before him, mouth hanging open.

"Sometimes all you need is a little push in the right direction." Yukimura smiles gently, and collects the equipment to sign them back in. "You have potential, Sengoku. This is just a taste of what you can achieve. I can't help you much more than this, but I can give you a chance."

The air is still humming at Sengoku's eardrums. He follows behind Yukimura into the sound-proof observation room, not quite sure what he is hearing.

Yukimura gestures for Sengoku to sit down opposite him. One leg crossed over the other, Yukimura runs a hand through his hair once, and then weaves his fingers together and places his hands on his raised knee. "I need someone to work on that murder back in November, and all the other cases related to it, because we have already discovered links to other deaths and missing persons enquiries and we all know we have a professional killer on our hands."

Sengoku nods slowly, and Yukimura continues. "I asked Sanada who would be the most suitable for this, and he gave me your name.

"I've read your files and I agree with his choice. Now all that remains is for you to accept the work. You and Sanada will form a two-men team dedicated solely to this investigation, starting tomorrow.

"There won't be any real undercover work, but it will require a lot of going out there to collect intel which we can trust, and eventually act upon. I will give you the task outline when we go back upstairs, so that you can think about it tonight whether you want to accept the work or not. As much as I seem to be forcing this onto you right now," Yukimura pauses, and his gaze softens, "I don't want to push you in a direction you don't want to go. Like I said, this will involve a lot of danger, which will be of a different kind to the danger the others will be exposed to the coming week. We all value our personal safety and if you choose to decline this task, I totally understand."

"I accept."

"You don't have to make a decision so soon."

Sengoku holds Yukimura's gaze steadily with his own. This is his chance. This is the thing he has been waiting to do his whole life. What is there to be hesitant about? But there is one thing he must know. "Did Sanada really recommend me?" And if he did, why? To give him a chance to redeem himself because he failed to catch the killer, or to keep his unlucky hands off the other normal work? But that can't be it. Yukimura just said that he will be working in a team with Sanada. So this can only mean the Chief Inspector recognises his abilities as an officer, right?

Yukimura studies Sengoku intently, searching in that excited expression, and suddenly smiles as if he has found what he is looking for. "Yes," he says, shifting his gaze to stare at his own hands, "he spoke highly of you. I think it'll be great for the two of you to work together. But one thing..."

Sengoku nearly erupts with excitement, but the sudden change of tone pulls him back down. He leans forward in his seat to show he is listening closely.

"Watch out for Sanada. I don't mean... I guess 'watch out' is the wrong term to use. I mean, please look after Sanada." Yukimura's smile turns a little rueful. "He puts many, many things before himself, and in turn puts himself in danger. To be honest with you, I wish I can do this task with him, so that I can stop him from diving into anything head-first without learning what is underneath. But as it is, I can't do that, so I must ask for your help."

Silence. Sengoku becomes awfully aware of his own heavy breathing. This is a different Yukimura he is seeing. Is this the real Yukimura, the one who has always hid behind the picture he has painted for himself?

"I will watch out for him." Sengoku finally nods. Of course he will watch out for Sanada. Even if it is someone else, he would never allow a team member to run into danger without preparation. What did the cadet school always teach? Never risk your life for your duty; one person less in the force means one person less to support the colleagues, and one person less to protect the community. Sengoku believes in that deeply.

The air between them is broken. Yukimura sits himself straight, then stands up, as if the conversation just now never took place. "Come with me to my office, I will give you the files."

As Sengoku follows his senior, nothing more is said or asked. So this is who Yukimura really is. A true leader who is able to teach him within minutes something the cadet school never really managed to. Strong and proud, but so very caring, deep inside.

For the very first time, Sengoku believes he understands Sanada's dedication to this man.

 

It is just like a game of chess. You think about what moves are available to you and your opponent, work out how your opponent will react to your moves, try to predict the steps ahead, and then you nudge your piece. Sometimes it is just one tiny step, at other times it may be a big leap. The pawns, Yukimura doesn't really care about them. He can push them into enemy territories and the enemy wouldn't mind them much either, because they seem to do little damage. And it doesn't even matter if the pawns are knocked down; Yukimura has more. But he likes to lose exactly the amount of pieces he has planned to sacrifice in order to win the game, no more, no less. And so Yukimura builds his attack slowly, carefully, and nobody will see the trap until it closes on them.

But what is even less obvious is who Yukimura's opponent is. Even Yanagi doesn't know. But Yukimura has expected this, because this is his game, and his opponent hasn't realised they have started playing and he won't realise until Yukimura whispers into his ear, _checkmate_.

The pawn has been set in place. Now he must take care of his other pieces.

Yukimura likes this game very much.


	10. Nobody in this business is sane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is there just one, or are there two... or even three?

Every now and then, Niou does a double take and wonders. Why is he in this business? Why is he still doing this when he doesn't need this much money? Who the fuck is this Yagyuu and why is he so obsessed with this man? Does Yagyuu even exist?

Maybe, perhaps, possibly, Yagyuu is his imagination. His imaginary friend, his secret fantasy, his second personality. Maybe he is fucked in the head and he is fucking himself over. He talks to himself on the computer, plans his work, goes out for the kill and cleans up after himself. It is all possible. There is no proof that Yagyuu exist apart from Yanagi saying that he does, Yanagi being the one who arranged them to work together in the first place. But then Yanagi, Niou knows, likes to fuck people around in his own way. Nobody in this business is sane. For all Niou cares, Yanagi can be playing with his two mentalities, getting the most out of who really is only one person. At the end of the day, it's all about profit maximisation isn't it?

But the drunk never admit to being drunk, and the insane always claim to be sane. So if Yagyuu really is a part of him, he would never even contemplate the possibility of it in the first place.

Really, Niou is very good at reasoning with himself.

Nobody in this business is sane.

That includes Yagyuu. Yagyuu is probably more insane than anyone, Niou thinks. Always watch out for the quiet ones. The ones who don't seem to respond to any provocation, but then leave half smoked cigarettes and birthday presents for you. The ones who have to have his bed next to a window, but hide behind a computer screen.

Niou leans back into his chair, and rests his feet heavily on the desk, crossing them at the ankles.

Really, for all he cares, he can be Yagyuu.

 

It is really amusing the way the human mind works.

Hiyoshi unfolds the binoculars and looks down at The Square from a footbridge that connects two nearby shopping centres. The reporters have arrived much quicker than the emergency services, just as he has expected. A few of them even dare to walk up to the shoebox near the fountain, to snap a few photos. The fact that it might be a real bomb doesn't seem to have come across to them yet, or perhaps a picture that has the slightest chance of securing a hefty bonus from their workplace is simply too good to resist.

But that's fine. That's what Hiyoshi wants. A nice and large picture on the 6 o'clock news tonight and the frontpages tomorrow morning, a shoebox with the message "for Yagyuu" written clearly on top.

Two cops are the next on the scene (if Hiyoshi doesn't count the 70-something shoppers already at The Square), probably summoned here because they are on the beat nearby. They try to shoo the reporters away without success, and seem unsure about what to do. Clear the immediate area? But they can't tell if there really is a bomb inside the box and there will be hell to pay if it turns out to be a false alarm. Wait for reinforcement? It may be too late by then. The fact that there is a swamp of reporters and two desperate cops there attracts even more people to come and see what is going on. People don't understand "fear" these days, terrorism is something that belongs only to television, despite attacks everywhere in the modern world - America, Spain, Japan. They have this strange belief that it is never going to happen to them. They poke their heads into everything, unaware of the dangers, and then they get their heads blown off. Husbands stop to look - _oh could it be that there's a pretty singer here today?_ \- whilst wives, usually the more protective ones, try to usher the family away. But the husbands say _"oh it wouldn't hurt to have a look"_ and the kids go _"what is it what is it I can't see!"_ and the daddies even put sons and daughters on their shoulders so that they can look. Boyfriends and girlfriends sit on the other side of the fountain, in their own little worlds. Other shoppers glance once at the direction of the crowd, and then continue shopping. One pickpocket is having a whale of a time getting everything he can from the distracted crowd.

He really should have asked the Master to come and watch, Hiyoshi thinks. The Master would find this human behaviour fascinating.

Hiyoshi makes sure that at least several of the reporters have pushed their way out of the crowd, their cameras loaded with photographs, before pulling out a black gadget that looks like the controller for a radio-controlled toy car, extending the cord and pressing a button.

He does admit he can be a little bit dramatic and attention-seeking, sometimes. But all great things should start with a bang, right?

 

**N:** Say something.

**N:** Oi.

**N:** You made enemies?

**Y:** At the moment I am not sure.

**Y:** It may be wise to discontinue contact for the time being, however.

**N:** Are you worried about me, or do you think I did it? Well you know what, for both cases, FUCK YOU.

**N:** So how about furthering our relationship? Are you still thinking about that?

**Y:** This is not the time to consider such issues.

**N:** I won't postpone our wedding just because some kid blew a few crackers.

**Y:** The "cracker" which you mention had my alias written on it and was set off at a crowded area at a busy time. It has claimed 33 lives, and the count may rise.

**N:** Are you telling me you have a conscience?

**Y:** I am saying that this person is aware of my existence, and his method of gaining my attention is unorthodox.

**N:** What are you going to do?

**Y:** I do not wish to discuss this at this moment.

**Y:** I have no instructions for you today.

**N:** Hey.

**N:** Don't logout on me.

**N:** There's someone out there who knows about you and blowing things up with your name and you don't know who or why and I don't care about instructions right now!

**N:** Fuck you Yagyuu talk to me!

**N:** You know I'm worried about you right?

_Connection closed._

 

Damn. He was so close to winning, to getting Yagyuu to see him, and then this happens.

Why The Square? There are a million places to choose from. Is it simply because the quadrangle provided limited access to the emergency services, making the whole thing catastrophic? Or because the results were dramatic, with the way shop windows to all four sides of the fountain shattered by shock waves, water from a blown apart fountain showering over blown apart bodies, and the survivors running in all directions, trampling and tripping over bodies as they tried to look for an exit in what suddenly seemed to have become an enclosed space?

Or does the bomber know that Niou had once told Yagyuu to meet up with him there? Security has been breached?

But Yagyuu has always been careful. And Yanagi too. They are as secretive as each other, the only difference is that Yanagi shows his face every now and then. Niou is the only one who lets it be known that he isn't using an alias, and gives this away freely.

Niou turns over in his bed, and turns this thought over in his head. No, he isn't going to start this blaming game right now.

What the hell does the bomber want by gaining attention this way? What's in it for him? He has set the cops after Yagyuu. A cop wouldn't do something like this. A friend or relative of someone Yagyuu killed? But apart from Niou, whoever gives Yagyuu the jobs, and Yagyuu himself, nobody else knows who has done which contract; Yagyuu isn't the only hitman out there, and he isn't fixed to a certain 'style'. Unless somebody has leaked information...

No, this isn't the right track. He should be thinking about the 'why', not the 'how'.

Niou throws the blanket back and gets out of bed. Padding towards the bathroom, he stops in front of the large mirror, and stares at his own reflection. Grey eyes blink and thin, pale lips part slightly as he drags the palm of his hand heavily down his face.

Why would anyone want to drag Yagyuu out into the open? What would anyone doing that gain? Who would want to do that?

Nobody in this business is sane. For all Niou cares, he can be Yagyuu.

But he can also be someone else.


	11. A Wild Guess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What has the bombing got to do with the man Sanada and Sengoku are hunting for?

"Hey."

Hands pausing mid-action, Sengoku glances to his side, not surprised to find his colleague there. This is the only shop near the division that is open at this hour and it has more-or-less become the alternative canteen for them. "Ah, early day today Minami-dear?" He asks as he searches the refrigerated shelves, and then takes out a prawn cocktail sandwich. "Last one, lucky!"

Minami smiles as he takes the sandwich; his friend still knows him the best. "Make that really early." It's only six in the morning and a raid has already been done. But there is to be no discussing tasks with anyone outside the special operation group... which Sengoku isn't a part of. There is something very wrong about this. Sengoku, whether he is aware of it or not, is the rising star of the division. Minami is not the only one shocked at the exclusion of Sengoku in the group, and he knows his friend can't be happy about it either. But it's something they can't discuss...

"Smile a bit!" Minami blinks in surprise when Sengoku claps him on the shoulder. Sengoku grins at him, showing two rows of perfect white teeth that seem to glow under the white light of the fridges. "You aren't the only one having to work early!"

A brief moment passes by, then Minami understands. Sengoku has been given something else to do, something important, and the man will tell when he can. He nudges Sengoku with his shopping basket, gesturing for him to drop his shopping in instead of holding it between a hand and his chin, like a tower that will collapse any minute. When Sengoku lets go of his breakfast-tower, it fills more than half the basket.

"Are you going to eat all that?" Minami asks, joining the queue to pay with Sengoku, who looks like he is buying more than just his own breakfast. Sengoku looks down at his sandwiches, energy bars and muffins, and shrugs.

"Some's for Sanada."

"Sanada?"

"Yeah."

The uncharacteristic silence that follows tells Minami his friend has been allocated to work with Sanada - otherwise, for someone who loves to talk and gossip about their seniors, Sengoku should have said much more than just 'yeah'. But, considering the Chief Inspector has always paired up with Yukimura, this is quite unusual...

Whatever. Sengoku seems satisfied with this arrangement, that is what's most important. At least Minami doesn't have to worry or feel guilty anymore about being in the group which Sengoku isn't in.

"Were you worried about me, Minami-dear?"

Minami smiles a bit as he bags their shopping. "Not anymore. I think Dan'd be relieved too."

"Little Dan?"

"Yeah. He asked me the other day why you looked so down. The kid... I think he treats all of us like family. He's been in today since four in the morning because he knew we had an early start, just to make sure we get our caffeine. That really is some dedication. He'd probably make a good officer."

"I'm not sure about that." Sengoku brushes off Minami's arm and pays for them. "Getting too emotionally attached isn't necessarily a good thing."

"I guess you've got a point."

 

The room they are using is just next to Sanada's office. Sengoku doesn't knock when he enters, and Sanada doesn't look up from his work. The silence, occasionally broken by the turning of a page or the sound of a keyboard, is oppressive, but what makes Sengoku uncomfortable as he puts the breakfast on the desk between them is the fact that the Chief Inspector hasn't eaten, slept or even moved away from his seat, apart from going to the toilet, for nearly twenty-four hours already.

"You don't want to take a short break?" Sengoku begins, and Sanada looks up briefly to shake his head. He wonders if Sanada has even called home to tell his wife he's going to sleep in the office. But probably a workaholic's wife gets used to things like that. "Have a smoke, or call home?"

His eyes glued to the computer screen, Sanada doesn't even respond this time. Working with a man like this makes Sengoku feel guilty about having mentioned the word "break" and his short trip for food, but it was a necessary trip. He digs into the bag and tosses a muffin towards the other man. He has promised Yukimura to look after him, after all.

The muffin lands just next to the keyboard. Sanada glances towards his work partner. "Thank you." He tears open the packaging, smells the sweetness and suddenly becomes aware of how hungry he really is. He has totally forgotten about keeping his energy levels up. But eating feels so insignificant when one is set on catching the man who set off the bomb at The Square. The tip-off Yukimura has received from a mole that this incident is related to the professional killer they are after, only adds fuel to the fire.

"Sanada," Sengoku pulls out a sheet of paper from under the pile of files on the desk. It is filled with the scribbles he has made just an hour ago. "let's do this again. I think we might have missed something."

"...Fine." The larger man turns away from the computer, pushes the rest of the muffin into his mouth and reaches for a drink.

"Starting with the obvious, 'Yagyuu' is a message. It can be a code to an action, a name, and loads of other things." Sengoku tries to write on the sheet, but abandons it and goes to the white board instead. He writes 'Yagyuu' in the centre. "I think we can safely eliminate 'code'. If one person wants to tell the other something and for some reason can't use the phone or whatever, they can devise a different action to mean a different thing, therefore no need to write something on the bomb.

"The squad said that it was set off by remote-control device. That means the bomber was within sight range of The Square. To safely set it off without getting hurt he could have been on the bridge or in one of the shops on the higher levels. I assume that the bomber was on the bridge coz CCTV from the shops isn't giving anything suspicious."

Sanada gives an approving nod. Sengoku reaches for a stack of paper in his shopping bag, and copies some details onto the board.

"The first tip-off to the press was made on 15:40. Four newspapers and a TV station received calls. The call-centre only got a call at 16:02. The bomb went off at 16:18. That left the press with plenty of time but not nearly enough for our colleagues. If the bomber was watching all of this from the bridge, he or she pretty obviously must have wanted high media coverage and maximum casualty."

"The bomber wanted to send a message to someone who wasn't expecting it. He either hasn't got the means to do it privately, or wanted to make it public." Sanada says. This was the point they stopped at when they brainstormed last time, and Sengoku said he was going to double-check with the phone company and get some breakfast on the way.

"Making it public means getting the police involved." Who would want to do something like that? Sengoku looks at his own writing on the board: Yagyuu, bomb, Rithonia police. Each part of it has to have some significance. There are many ways to catch attention that don't have to involve blood shed. Renting a billboard, newspaper, TV advertisement, or even a public stunt would do the trick. If they take the bold step to assume 'Yagyuu' is an alias - because it simply doesn't mean anything in any of the languages they have looked up - then this must be some sort of a warning to Yagyuu.

The professional killer is involved in this somewhere. He (to hell with political correctness, Sengoku is going to stick to one gender) shouldn't be the bomber unless he's screwed in the head and wants to catch attention.

"One possibility is it's in retaliation to something 'Yagyuu' has done." Sanada begins, and Sengoku writes frantically on the board. "If Yagyuu is the hitman, the bomber may be someone connected to a previous murder and wants to take justice into his own hands." The frown between Sanada's brows deepens, as does the dark shadows on his face, and he crosses his arms in front of his chest. "But that is unlikely." If they haven't been able to find out anything at all about this hitman, would anyone else really be able to? And would they commit a massacre like that just to warn him, and even stay at the bridge to watch the blood shed? The bomber obviously has no sense of the value of human life...

Both men in the room turn towards the door at the sound of a knock. "Come in." Sengoku answers, even as he walks over to open it, revealing Dan on the other side, holding a tray with two mugs of steaming coffee and a plate of biscuits. He looks past Sengoku and sees that there are already food and drinks on the table.

"Sorry desu! The Superintendent told me to bring some coffee..."

"It's fine. Put it down." Sanada clears some space on the desk. Yukimura still does these things; it's a gesture to show that he's thinking about him.

Seeing the way Dan is still looking a bit sheepish, Sengoku smiles. "Coffee's good. It's getting a bit cold in this room don'tchathink?" He grins at Sanada.

"Hmm."

That finally brings a smile to Dan's face. "Thank you desu!"

"And, my dear Dan," Sengoku wraps an arm around Dan's shoulders just before the youth leaves the room. "I didn't have a fight with Minami, and I'm not upset at anything, alright?" He shoos Dan away, both of them smiling, and shuts the door.

And he freezes on the spot.

Dan had thought that he and Minami had a fight over the special operation group, and that there are hurt feelings because he thinks he deserves to be there to help with the crime crackdown.

The bomber has no hesitation in killing people. If, and this is a wild guess, this guy is also a professional killer, can it be that he is in search of Yagyuu, and wants to prove to him that he is the better man? Can the bomb be a battle declaration of some sort, an internal quarrel between two very dangerous men who either see the police force as no obstacle at all, or even want to use them to force each other into the open?

This is a very wild guess. But if it turns out to be true...

"...Holy fuck."


	12. Nocturne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are too many questions, and not enough answers.

Yukimura turns off the water, steps out of the shower and dries himself. Steam escapes from the bathroom when he opens the door, following him into the bedroom. Hair still damp, he lays down onto the bed, the dark blue of the sheets making his pale skin look like white alabaster, almost translucent yet glowing under the dimmed light.

Then he turns on his side and reaches for the phone on the nightstand, which hasn't stopped playing its _Nocturne in C sharp minor_ ringtone for the last few minutes. "Yes?"

"Seiichi."

"I was in the shower."

"I'm sorry. I've been trying to reach you all day. I'm-"

Yukimura brushes a lock of damp hair away from his eyes. "Renji, I had to prepare for the press conference. You know that." He speaks gently, his voice bearing no annoyance but a reassuring calm.

"Yes. I watched it. You handled it beautifully." _You were amazing._ "I- I'm sorry. I'm still trying to find out what happened. Yagyuu is safe, I have been in contact with him. But he doesn't have any clues about who may have done this and why." Yanagi doesn't really know if that is of any importance at all to Yukimura at the moment, but he says it anyway.

The warm body turns, naked skin sliding against the cold sheets, away from the lamp and towards the floor-to-ceiling windows. "That's fine. Stay out of it from now on."

Silence follows. Yukimura listens to Yanagi's breathing, which has become a little more rapid than usual. He shifts his gaze from the windows towards the bed, then closes his eyes all together. A moment later, he speaks again. "I know what's going on. Stay put for the rest of the week like I told you last time."

The breathing from Yanagi's side stops. Yukimura has planned this? Without telling him? "I don't understand. Tell me what's going on. Please."

Yukimura doesn't answer the request. He switches the phone to the other ear, and rolls onto his back. "How long has it been, Renji?"

"Since?" Yanagi strains to hear the unspoken words, but he can't decipher the question. "Seiichi?"

"Never mind." Yukimura says after a moment. "Just do as I say. I'll speak to you again."

"Seiichi..."

"Goodnight. I love you."

Yukimura switches the phone off, tosses it aside and closes his eyes. A minute later, he reaches for the phone again, turns it back on and makes a call.

"It's me. Are you still at the office? ... You must rest. ... No. Both you and Sengoku must get some rest, you can't catch any killers if you get sick. This is an order. ... Yes, come to my place. ... I'm waiting for you in my bed. I want you to sleep by my side..."

 

Hiyoshi closes and locks the door behind him. His captive has been fed and once again warned not to escape - 'Misery' is quite effective in getting the message across. In fact, Hiyoshi likes that movie and wouldn't mind watching it till the end with Jackal, but he has more important things to do right now.

He logs on to the server and into the chat room. There is one other person in the room: Y.

**H.W.:** Hello, Yagyuu.

The other person doesn't reply, but Hiyoshi doesn't expect him to. He continues typing.

**H.W.:** I hope you enjoyed my present for you on Saturday. It was handmade especially for you.

**H.W.:** I know there's no reason for you to believe I am who I say I am. To prove my identity I've planted a small bomb at the bus depot at Cavendish Road. It should go off in about 3 minutes.

Hiyoshi sits back and waits. Small, dark eyes turn towards the television at the corner of the room, where a woman is reading out today's news on the 24-hours news channel. Within minutes the breaking news of an explosion at the bus depot is displayed on the screen, screaming in white letters against a bright red background.

**Y:** Who are you and how did you find out about this channel?

**H.W.:** Are you scared?

**Y:** I want to know how information was leaked.

**H.W.:** Does it really matter now?

**Y:** Who are you?

**H.W.:** I'd like to know your views on the current situation of the profession.

**Y:** You have not answered my question.

**H.W.:** Do you consider yourself an 'eventful' man or an 'event-making' man?

**Y:** I am not an avid reader of philosophy.

**H.W.:** That's a shame. I think Sidney Hook's a good read, I highly recommend his works. Give me your address so that I can send you a copy?

**Y:** You have not answered my question.

**H.W.:** I'm a colleague. An admirer, in fact.

**Y:** Why did you set off a bomb with my alias written on it?

**H.W.:** To catch your attention, of course. And to start things with a surprise bang. Sort of like the Japanese dropping their first bombs onto Pearl Harbour I guess?

**Y:** The Americans ended that war with an atomic bomb.

**H.W.:** Well if you want to retaliate, I suggest you find me first.

**Y:** What is the purpose of all this?

**H.W.:** I'm an event-making man, rather than just an eventful man as some people say about those in our profession. I really do admire you, but it's time for change. I need to prove my point and to do that I need you dead.

**Y:** I find this a waste of my time.

**H.W.:** You won't think so when you start running for your life.

**Y:** Provocation will not work on me.

**H.W.:** That's not my intention. I respect you too much to do that. I was just pointing out that you should watch your back from now on and consider counterstroke.

**H.W.:** Nice talking to you.

_[01:53] H.W. has left the channel._

_[02:00] N has entered the channel._

**N:** .........

**N:** Mind if I orgasm right now?

**N:** You're still alive.

**N:** So, any clues about the fucktard yet? Have you talked to Yanagi?

**N:** Hello anybody home?

**Y:** I still suggest for us to discontinue contact for now.

**N:** Then what the fuck are you doing online in this chat? And btw, someone's threatening my work partner, I think I have every right to know what's going on. I'd have no income if you're dead. Now spill!

**N:** I don't like being treated like this.

**Y:** This situation is most unexpected. I do not mean to disregard you in any way.

**N:** Then tell me what the fuck's going on!

**Y:** There are no instructions for today. We will speak again tomorrow.

**N:** FUCK YOU.

 

"Drinking all alone? Did you get dumped?"

Yanagi glances to his side to find a white-haired man climbing onto the stool beside him and flashing him a feral smile. He sighs. There is definitely a down side to sticking to the same bar all the time.

Niou waves at the bar tender. "Screwdriver. Hold the orange." Yanagi raises an eyebrow and looks at Niou questioningly, but Niou ignores the look. "I have interesting tastes."

"So I gathered." Yanagi sips his whiskey. "This better be important."

"Important?" Niou drums his fingertips along the wood. Yanagi observes every movement, and sees that faint, nearly invisible frown under the veil of white hair. "Well, there's that shit the other day, and then there's my partner not telling me anything about it. I consider this fucking important."

"There is nothing I can tell you about that at the moment."

"I don't like this."

"Neither do I." Yukimura has forbidden Yanagi from looking into it any further. But how is he supposed to stay out of it? He can foresee Yagyuu contacting him at some point tonight, and what is he supposed to say then?

"Has this got anything to do with the black out?"

Ice cubes swirl around in the pale golden liquid, clinking against the glass as Yanagi lifts his drink again to take a sip. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Niou is watching him, waiting for a more detailed reply.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. I'll do what's within my power to resolve the situation, but I can't promise any more than that."

Niou drains his vodka, gags at the taste, slams it down and then asks for another one. He can't accept that answer, yet he has to. He doesn't trust Yanagi entirely, but he only has this one contact, who else is there for him to trust? And if Yanagi is plotting something behind the scenes and betraying him... well, fuck.

Niou exits the bar, leaving Yanagi to foot his bill, which the man doesn't mind doing. Half an hour later, his phone rings. A call from Yagyuu, as expected. Yagyuu speaks about someone breaking into the secure channel, claiming to be a colleague. Someone who used the initials _H.W._ and wants his life, just for fame. Is he afraid? No. But he doesn't like to be harassed and doesn't want to kill if he gets no money from it. Can Yanagi look into this?

Yanagi offers the same answer he has given to Niou: he will do what he can. Although, listening to Yagyuu's descriptions Yanagi already knows who is behind all this: Hiyoshi. But he doesn't tell because he's not allowed to. He'll only do what he can and what he's allowed to do.

Yagyuu is much more easily appeased than Niou, because he has no fear for this colleague. Yanagi ends the call, pays for the drinks and heads home.

He drives, and pulls over opposite Yukimura's house when he passes by the hilltop residence, suddenly consumed by the urge to demand from Yukimura what he is planning and what his earlier question means. But he sees a black Audi parked just outside the door, and gritting his teeth, he starts the car again.

He doesn't need to look up to know the curtain at Yukimura's windows are drawn closed.

He doesn't want to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sidney Hook](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Hook) \- American philosopher famous for his work _The Hero in History_ , in which he wrote: "The eventful man is a creature of events. The event-making man causes events. Both the eventful man and the event-making man appear at the forking points of history. The event-making man... finds a fork in the historical road, but he also helps, so to speak, to create it."
> 
> In other words, the "eventful" man is one who happened to be involved in an historic situation but without really determining its course, and the "event-making" man one whose "actions influenced subsequent developments along a quite different course than would have been followed if these actions had not been taken", actions that were "the consequences of outstanding capacities of intelligence, will, and character rather than accidents of position."


	13. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their paths cross.

The cappuccino is frothy and sprinkled with chocolate shavings. Dan watches with curious eyes, and copies what his companion does, dipping the complimentary biscuit into the drink before snapping it between his teeth. He gives it a good chew, and covers his mouth straight away.

Yukimura chuckles heartily at Dan's reactions. The youth swallows hard and sips his drink to get rid of the aftertaste. "Ginger isn't for everyone." The man waves at the waiter and asks for some tea biscuits instead.

"Sir, I'm fine desu! There's no need to-"

"Taichi, how many times have I said it already?"

"Sorry... Yukimura." Dan ducks his head and gives a sheepish smile. "It's just that..." It just doesn't feel appropriate to call the Superintendent by his name. Nor does it feel right to be drinking coffee with him at such a posh place. Not that Dan doesn't enjoy the attention, or the very delicious cappuccino...

Yukimura suddenly looks a bit upset. "You don't like it?" His smile is one of relief when Dan shakes his head in denial. "You're always running around getting us coffee, I thought it'd be nice to treat you in return. And we are friends, aren't we?"

"Of course desu!" They are?

"I'm glad." The older man takes a sip of his mocha, his smile turning somewhat rueful as he pauses. "Being who I am, it's really hard for me to make friends..."

Dan blinks several times, his hand reaching for the biscuits stopping in mid-air. "How can that be? You're so kind and generous and I'm sure everyone likes you!"

"Thank you... I just don't often have the time to meet up with friends like we're doing now; there's always so much to do. I only have an hour before having to lead the team out again." Yukimura sighs softly. "And sometimes I just don't know what to do... for example, I'm really worried about Sanada. He's prone to overworking himself and putting himself in danger, and I want to know if I can help him out in any way. But I'm afraid that if I keep checking on him, I'd put pressure on him as his senior..."

This is indeed a difficult situation, to be your friend's boss, especially when it's so obvious that Yukimura cares about Sanada very much. Dan can't help but frown in concern, yet at the same time he is very proud that the Superintendent has chosen to confide this worry in him. There must be some way he can help.

"Maybe... would it help if I tell you what I know? I go in and out of their room a lot, but I don't know if what I've heard is anything useful..."

Yukimura's eyes slowly light up. Leaning forward and towards his companion, he speaks in a whisper, in confidence. "Could you do that, Taichi? Anything will help."

"Well, they wrote a list on the board, I remember seeing 'religion extremism', 'revenge', 'internal quarrel' and..."

It feels strange to be telling Yukimura about what his underlings are working on, but, Dan reasons with himself, Yukimura is the head of the division, so there can't be any problems telling him about all this. Surely.

 

Looking for the bomber is something that the whole division is working on, but Sanada doesn't believe in sitting at his desk waiting for results. His eyes shielded by his cap from the midday sun, he ducks under the cordon tape and walks around the screens to enter the bomb site. The forensic team is still working, a couple of them near what was once the water fountain, the rest scattered around the whole area, some inside the ground floor shops that have been affected. But there is just one man Sanada is looking for, and that man is staring at something on the other side of the fountain with the help of a magnifier. He looks up when Sanada walks to his side.

"You could've just called."

"You could pick up your phone for once, Tezuka."

Tezuka gives no reaction. He pulls out a phone from his pocket, and finds he has six missed calls. "I don't let myself get distracted when I work. Your being here helps nothing, and I hope you haven't destroyed any vital evidence by treading on it."

"I can't just sit and wait." Sanada says. "Have you found anything?"

Tezuka's eyes narrow a little behind his designer glasses. Sanada never understands that gathering evidence is a meticulous task, particularly so for a bomb scene. One just cannot produce results straight away. But he has found a few things. "The bomb was made by a professional. Almost definitely remote-controlled."

"Bought? Or did the bomber make it himself?"

"Can be either. But I lean more towards self-made."

"How do you know?"

"By experience. I've sent some things back to the labs, Ooishi's working on it." Tezuka gestures towards the team's van nearby and leads the way, taking off his coat and gloves as Sanada follows behind. "There is a fingerprint on one of the pieces, the bomber could have forgotten to clean the inside of the box. Not an uncommon mistake." Not that bombings are all that often...

A fingerprint! "And you didn't give me a call?" Sanada watches Tezuka put his things away neatly into the van as if taking his time.

"It was only discovered ten minutes before you got here, it's probably still on its way to the labs." Telling Sanada only means the man would rush to the laboratories and disrupt the work there. Tezuka glares at the man, then sweeps his gaze up and down. "Sanada, when was the last time you had a shower?"

This morning, at Yukimura's house. But Sanada didn't have a change of clothing and is still wearing the same thing from three days ago. "That's not important."

"And the last time you've eaten?" Tezuka asks, but doesn't even wait for an answer. "Have lunch with me. I'll tell you what I've found so far."

 

There is just one other person on the bus, a man with bright white hair who is sitting next to one of the windows. His gaze fixed to something outside, he doesn't even glance at the doors when Sengoku boards, which makes Sengoku feel a bit weird. Normally people look at who gets on the bus, don't they? Especially at this time in the night when passengers are scarce.

Yes, this time of the night. Sengoku doesn't bother stifling the yawn as the bus leaves the stop, raising his arms over his head as well, his entire body shaking with released tension for a few seconds. Yukimura has dropped by, the first time in the last few days, and swiftly kicked them out, which was all well and good, since Sengoku has reached that point when he knows staying in the office isn't going to do any good because his mind is just totally numb.

But damn, Sanada. That man is mad. If he works like this, there'd be no need to watch out for him on the field; he'd die from overworking soon enough. Since receiving information from the forensics earlier in the day, they've been looking and comparing it with past cases, searching through records and rewatching CCTV footage. If Sengoku closes his eyes for long enough, he would see the glare of the TV and computer screens again.

The fingerprint the forensics team has found doesn't match with any of the ones on the ID card system, so it may have come from someone too young to have an ID card (unlikely) or someone from abroad (they've sent the print out and hopefully will hear something soon). According to Tezuka, the print is large even for a thumb print, so they should be looking for a very large man, well over six-foot in height. This man may have built the bomb or know the person who built it, or he may even be the bomber himself. The handwriting on the box suggests he is confident and has a flare for drama, matching with the dramatic effects of the bomb, timed to cause maximum damage. Nothing much has been found on the control device yet and Tezuka isn't optimistic.

At some point Sanada had drafted in a few more people to help with the search, since the entire office is working on this case anyway, but they just could not find anyone who would match these descriptions. The last in the team left soon after midnight, leaving just Sanada and Sengoku again, trying to confirm the motive and build up a profile of both the bomber and this 'Yagyuu'. Sanada has accepted Sengoku's guess as one of the possibilities, but he remains skeptical and Sengoku doesn't blame him. Even he can't convince himself completely that they're watching two professional killers battling each other out. But still, 'Yagyuu' has to be the name of a person and a vital clue.

Damn. What's the point of leaving the office if he keeps on thinking about this? Sengoku rolls his eyes at himself, and tries to find something else to focus on. His gaze falls on the other man on the bus when he hears the shuffling sound of a plastic bag. Sitting up better, Sengoku can see the white-haired man holding a bottle of some sort near his nose. A second later he hears a very small sigh, and that man slouches deep in his seat. Almost automatically, Sengoku gets up from his seat.

A hand reaching into his coat's inside pocket, Sengoku pulls out his Rithonian Police badge and holds it a foot from the other man's face. "I'm Senior Inspector Sengoku Kiyosumi. Give me your ID card and the bag in your hand." Not that he can make an arrest for substance abuse, but at least he can give the glue-sniffer a warning. People just don't know how easily this stuff can kill them.

The man smirks with thin, pale lips, and grey eyes flick upwards to look at Sengoku. With a nonchalant shrug he hands the bag over, the green bottle cap exposed at the top and still open. Then he arches up in the seat and pulls out an ID card from a back pocket. Sengoku takes a quick look: Niou Masaharu. The name doesn't ring any bell. He tugs the plastic bag down a bit and blinks in disbelief.

"I didn't realise smelling my shampoo's an offence, _sir_."

Sengoku gapes at the bottle of _Neutrogena Healthy Scalp Anti-Dandruff Formula Shampoo_ in his hand. The receipt is still in the bag. Taking it out, he squeezes a bit of the thick, honey-coloured substance onto it and brings it near his nose - it really is just shampoo. Slightly flushed, he passes the bag and the ID card back their owner.

Niou smirks again and goes back to his shampoo-sniffing as Sengoku sits back down. Then he turns, putting an arm on the back of his seat.

"Inspector," Niou drawls, catching the attention of the embarrassed man. "don't you have better things to do than scaring perfectly good citizens like me on the bus? Catching a bomber, for example? I get scared going home at night."

Despite the laughter in Niou's eyes, Sengoku can sense an unusual anger in the tone. He straightens himself. "It's being investigated." Not lucky. Niou might have a family member affected by the bombing or something, and Sengoku hates facing victims' families, for the obvious reasons. "We will catch him." He says with resolution. He will get this bomber.

Niou's eyes stay fixed on Sengoku, until the bus pulls over at a stop two minutes later. Clutching the shampoo bottle in his hand, Niou gets off without a word, but his meaning is obvious:

Remember your promise, Inspector.


	14. This is not a sport

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The bottom line is that this will not end until one of us is dead."

The Master would be proud if he sees Hiyoshi right now. He is reading. Researching. Not for a job but for something much more important: bringing down Yagyuu.

As a hitman with nearly two years of experience behind him, Hiyoshi knows it's time to break a few laws. Some like to think that the likes of him are eventful men, people who alter history by being in the right place at the right time. But no, there is so much more to it. Anyone can kill. But a perfect kill is only possible because of the mental, physical and psychological strengths of the one who performs it, and this makes hitmen different. They are event making men, men who change the course of history through the use of extraordinary power.

Men who change history don't hide in faraway buildings and shoot with a rifle. No matter how hyped-up the media got about that particular murder of the politician, it was an act of cowardice. And it wasn't a one-off thing. Yagyuu kills from afar whenever he can, from what Hiyoshi has gathered. As for those kills that are accredited to Yagyuu, by rumours within the industry, but Hiyoshi can't confirm, the target almost always just disappear from the face of the earth and become another missing person statistic.

That is not the way to do it. True, even the film makers who rarely ever get anything right got it right in _Leon: The Professional_ \- a true hitman should excel in both long and short range weapons. But long range is for beginners who want to put a safe distance between himself and the target, so that he can retreat quickly. It gives people the impression that hitmen are sneaky, cowardly men who don't dare to come out in broad daylight. And as someone standing on the very top of it all, Yagyuu should know better than to do it this way. Now the entire industry, including the old farts who run things and Hiyoshi never got to meet because The Master wouldn't let him, are touchy and shaky about the smallest things. Why should a group of professionals dash for cover just because of a police investigation?

What was it that Lucretius said in _On the Nature of Things_? "Old things give way and are sup-planted by new without fail."

Hiyoshi is ready to rewrite the history of the profession. And it will start here. At this corner store.

The taxi pulls over near the corner store. Hiyoshi closes the note book in his hands, pays and steps off the vehicle into the cold morning. The phone in his pocket starts to ring at the same time.

"Hello?"

"This is Yanagi."

"Master. What is it?" Now who was it that said they shouldn't make any form of contact this week?

"Just a reminder that you must stay put for the rest of the week."

Hiyoshi pauses. As expected from The Master. Yanagi must be suspecting that he is responsible for the bomb. But suspecting means he hasn't got any concrete evidence. "I will."

Yanagi breathes deeply on the other side. "This is very important."

"You don't trust me, Master." Hiyoshi says, his voice emotionless. "Are there any jobs? I want to do something."

"This is not a sport. Your attitude makes it hard for me to give you anything."

Swallowing a complaint, Hiyoshi says something dismissive and hangs up. The Master knows his capabilities, but he has to please his boss too, so Hiyoshi will let this one go. In a few days' time their views of him will all change, anyway.

Red must not be the shopkeeper's natural hair colour, Hiyoshi notes absently as the man glares at him the moment he enters the shop. The fine layer of stubble on the shopkeeper's chin is black, and so are the circles under his eyes. The man leaves the counter to shut the shop door, flips the plastic sign over so that it says "closed", then turns around and leans on the door as if worried that Hiyoshi may escape.

"Where's Jackal?" The shopkeeper hisses the words out through clenched teeth.

Hiyoshi does not bother answering the question. "When will you next see Yagyuu?"

"The day after tomorrow. Look, why don't you just come here then and put a bullet to his head?" If he stops to think about it, the shopkeeper would be shocked at himself for suggesting to someone to come to his shop and kill the most prized hitman out there. But all he can think of now is Jackal's safety. "Get it over and done with?"

Yes, that would make things much simpler, Hiyoshi knows, but that also defeats the point of declaring battle and having a one-on-one. Without doing that and without doing it publicly, so that there will be a proper record, how would anyone know he is truly the best?

Still, he has to plan ahead. From his pocket he pulls out a CD and passes it to the shopkeeper. "If I don't return your friend to you before you next see Yagyuu, give this to him."

The shopkeeper reluctantly takes the CD. "Fine, whatever."

After Hiyoshi leaves the shop, the shopkeeper abandons his shop and rushes upstairs to load the CD into a computer. It sounds like Hiyoshi will confront Yagyuu tomorrow and this may be a message or a will, it may even say where Jackal is-

He stares at the screen, then flops back into the chair. That bastard.

 

After Niou gets off the bus, he crosses the road and waits for the one that will take him back. Two minutes later, it begins to rain. It isn't a downpour like Niou has expected, knowing his luck, but a drizzle so light it looks like mist hanging over the air, visible only where the street lamp lights up, the sort of rain that you can breathe into your lungs.

He pulls the hood of his windbreaker over his head, looks at his watch and squints under the poor lighting: it's nearly 2am. He leans against the bus stop and shivers in the cold. Well, Yagyuu can wait. Neither of them wants to talk anyway. The only thing he gets for being in the chatroom at 02:00 every night is to be told there's nothing to tell him. Anyone can do that to Niou Masaharu because he doesn't care about everyone, except Yagyuu (okay, maybe Yanagi too, but just a bit). He hasn't given Yagyuu the right to treat him like this, whatever the reasons are. Right now this makes him feel like he's a fucking burden, like a woman kept in the house, away from danger. Or perhaps, and this is the worst case scenario, Yagyuu doesn't trust him. Maybe Yagyuu thinks Niou is the cause of all this. And he can't do anything to prove his innocence, even to himself.

Yeah, he can't do a fucking thing right now. Yagyuu's being more secretive than ever, Yanagi said something but it's the same as having said nothing, and he's sunk low enough to make a cop promise to make an arrest.

The bus home pulls over. Niou flashes his bus pass at the driver as he gets on, the tips of his bangs soaked and stuck to his face. They are still like that when he gets home half an hour later. He ignores the computer, showers and goes to bed.

This is the first time he passes on an opportunity to talk to his partner. Do nothing, apparently, is the only thing he can do now.

 

**H.W.:** I'll see you tomorrow 22:30, at the cargo harbour.

**Y:** I do not see the reason for my attendance.

**H.W.:** I could say that I will blow more things up and paint your alias everywhere.

**Y:** But?

**H.W.:** Do you not feel that urge? That tingling feeling under your skin? The need to push your limits and go against someone head-to-head instead of giving them a bullet from behind, like a coward?

**Y:** This is not a sport.

**H.W.:** It doesn't matter if you don't see things my way. The bottom line is that this will not end until one of us is dead. I will see you tomorrow.

_[01:39] H.W. has left the channel._

_[03:52] N has entered the channel._

Niou stares at the screen for a full minute before typing.

**N:** So you're still here.

**Y:** There are seven minutes before the communication channel is shut down.

**N:** What, you were going to wait for me till 4am?

**Y:** I want to let you know that I will not be available here tomorrow. Therefore you will not need to log in.

**N:** Why? Where're you going?

**N:** You know something I don't and you aren't telling me. So who's gonna clean up after you?

**N:** Spill, motherfucker, what the hell is going on?

**N:** Please tell me.

**Y:** It is not as serious as you may be making it.

**N:** Then why the big hush?

**Y:** There are several reasons. At the moment I feel it is best not to explain. When this is over and if you are still interested, we can consider furthering your career according to Maslow.

"Is that a promise?" Niou mutters to the screen, smirking. If he looks at this in another way, it may seem that Yagyuu is treating him like a child, but for some reason Niou thinks that isn't Yagyuu's intention.

**N:** You sure you don't need my help tomorrow? Not even with the body?

Getting rid of the body is one of the jobs Niou hates, not because of the concept but the sheer amount of mess it makes and the strength needed. Yagyuu has been good at making this step unnecessary in most cases, after Niou groaned about it once during a chat. It wasn't very professional of him to complain, but it had been the corpse of a 300-pound man. Niou grimaces just thinking about it.

**Y:** That will not be necessary.

**N:** Fine. Talk to you again in 46 hours.


	15. Yagyuu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Yagyuu.

Murder is not a sport. It is not a form of recreation or a hobby. It is not a competition or a game. It is not even, as some may claim, art.

That was the first thing Yanagi had taught Yagyuu. And Yagyuu knows this is right. When one sees murder as a job and a job only, one is able to think rationally and know what risks he can or cannot take. Since Yanagi retired to work on administration (he said he was getting old, Yagyuu knew there were other reasons), Yagyuu has stuck to this rule faithfully. If there is a so-called "secret of success", then this is it.

Yagyuu first started out as Yanagi's assistant, much like what Niou is to him right now (although perhaps Niou prefers to call them "partners"). It is one of the best ways to be introduced to the industry, because it teaches on what not to do, such as bringing soil or blood back to your base, and it prepares the person physically and mentally. A year of cleaning up after Yanagi had taught Yagyuu the basics of how to kill with the least amount of bloodshed, how to destroy a corpse, and how to create less work for the assistant.

Which reminds Yagyuu, because Niou dislikes removing bodies and so has missed out on many chances of examining wounds, he may have to teach Niou from scratch the various kinds of damage caused by different bullets and how it relates with angle and distance. He has been too soft on Niou, Yagyuu thinks, but it was his own poor judgement to make Niou get rid of that very large body half a year ago. Despite being fairly strong, he was not built for moving something that size. That was the only time Niou seriously complained about a job and Yagyuu, as an apology, did his best to minimise the need for removing the corpse again. But if Niou is going to be Yagyuu's full partner, Yagyuu will have to give him a few more lessons, probably face-to-face.

The thought of physically sitting down with Niou and talking with him makes Yagyuu uncomfortable. He wonders if Yanagi had felt that way when they started working more closely together, but his relationship with Yanagi was very different from that with Niou. He doesn't know Niou very well, just well enough to know that difference won't create a problem, but he is still uncomfortable because he doesn't really know what he would do when they finally look at each other in the face. When he sees that white hair and those grey eyes for real, instead of through a lens. But he has a pretty good idea what Niou may do.

Every time, for a few very short moments after he has talked to Niou on the computer, Yagyuu worries about the moment they finally meet, even though he knows his worries are needless because he is to Niou what his job is to him. His job is not just any job. It is very much like that of an actor; it covers and makes demands of his entire life. The more successful he is, the more it takes over his daily life. Yagyuu sees this not as a loss of control but a demand made to him by professionalism.

On a typical day, Yagyuu gets up at seven o'clock. He does a set amount of rigorous exercise and reading. He eats three meals a day and no dessert. He does not drink alcohol or smoke (although this rule is loosened on the day of a job, when he would allow himself half a cigarette). He uses an anti-dandruff shampoo to prevent leaving flakes of skin from his scalp at any crime scene. He avoids running in to old acquaintances ("Hey, do you remember me? I sat next do you during third grade!") And in case they are persistent, he keeps a photograph of himself, an ugly Iraqi woman and a child in his wallet. When he gets asked about family he shows it and people never know what to comment on his "wife". He had given the woman five US dollars to get the picture taken and it remains the best five dollars he has ever spent in his life.

People are peculiar like that. As soon as it seems on the surface that Yagyuu and they have nothing in common to talk about, they would leave him alone.

This strategy is not working on his overenthusiastic colleague who goes by the initials H.W., though. But then again, there are always people who go looking for trouble. They can be a bit annoying to deal with. Yagyuu has been quite relaxed about this initially, until he spoke to Yanagi on the phone (they aren't supposed to make contact during the week, but they know when the rules can be bent). Yanagi's reply had been too dismissive which is atypical of him. The subtext was pretty obvious: I want to help but I'm sorry, you're on your own with this one.

Not that he did not care about the bomb that had his name written on it, but after calling Yanagi, Yagyuu knows it is the right choice to not tell Niou anything, and that he needs to take H.W. seriously.

He is going to the cargo harbour.

Yagyuu pulls on the beige, dusty overalls, zips it up in the front and puts on the heavy-duty boots. With a small amount of wax, he messes up his hair to make it look dirty, but not totally unkempt - when it comes to disguise, less is always more. He exchanges his glasses for a pair that is cheap and unfashionable. Having foregone shaving in the morning, the faint layer of stubble on his chin gives him a slightly rugged look. Two small clumps of cotton wool, the type used by dentists, have been stuffed into his cheeks, near the wisdom teeth, to give him a wider looking jaw.

When the night shift at the harbour has ended, Yagyuu blends himself amongst the workers, carrying a rucksack on his shoulder. There isn't enough time for him to pick up the language these people use, so he decides to adopt the typical lower-class accent, which should be enough. Slipping into the harbour, he stays in a dark corner until all the floodlights have been turned off at 21:00, leaving the site illuminated only by emergency lighting.

There is a certain risk behind this. H.W. can already be at the site as well, and watching him right now. But it is a risk small enough to take. Yagyuu has confidence in his disguise and is convinced H.W. will only arrive half an hour before the agreed time. This gives Yagyuu advantage of being able to choose the precise meeting point.

There is no question to which location is the best for the sort of confrontation H.W. had proposed. The security guard positioned near the warehouse is easy to avoid, and Yagyuu finds himself a vantage point behind wooden crates and boxes that have been stacked high. At this spot, he can see clearly the entrance to the warehouse.

He takes out the equipment from his rucksack and sets it up, focusing it at the door. And waits.

There is a certain truth to what H.W. had said. Yagyuu does like to watch from afar. After a job he likes to go to a building from which he can see his safehouse, and watch, through a telescope, what Niou does. He likes to see Niou turning up in a suit, which gets ruined by the end of his cleaning up task. He likes to watch Niou lay down in the bed he has slept in. He likes to watch Niou shudder when he smokes the cigarette. He likes to watch Niou jerk off, and see those lips mouth his name. He likes to watch how Niou does it violently, rocking his entire body on the bed as if there is someone on top of him, doing him painfully and lustfully. And he likes to imagine himself entering Niou, penetrating Niou, fucking Niou into the bed.

Yagyuu lays himself chest down, on top of a crate of canned peaches and behind a crate of canned mix fruits, and readjusted the equipment in his hands. When he looks through its lens, he sees not the warehouse but Niou, his thin face, sharp chin, eyes that are at times cautious and but also very oddly innocent. He sees a smirk, bony fingers combing through unnatural white hair.

It's reaching the point where even requesting for additional contracts, so that he can watch Niou more often, isn't enough to satiate this obsession. But even now, Yagyuu does not know if meeting Niou is a risk he can take. What would it mean to his life in the long term? Could he afford to give up the routine of his everyday life that has so far protected him so well? Or may be it is time to retire ("It's time for a hitman to retire if he starts to have any hesitation," was what Yanagi had said before he left), but that isn't what Niou would want to see. Perhaps it is their anonymity, the way they know how each other work although having never met, that makes them desire each other so much, and a meeting will only shatter it all. But it's too late now, whoever makes the other go to see him first is the winner of the game, so Yagyuu will have to make Niou the winner; he has promised to see Niou when this business with H.W. is over.

Murder is not a sport, nor is it a game. Yagyuu thinks it must be because he is good at murder that he is going to lose in the game. But doesn't losing in a game mean "game over"?

The door opens. Yagyuu is ready. Whatever it is, it will start with game-over for this extremely friendly colleague.


	16. Internal Affairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There appears to be a new breakthrough in the investigation, but the information comes from the criminal?

"Minami."

"Yes?"

"I must be getting old. Why can't I be that energetic?" Sengoku lifts his chin towards Dan's direction. The young man is running around delivering coffees. It is six in the morning. "He left around the same time as I did last night, and look at him," he says, sinking into his chair as Dan comes over. The young man passes him his morning dose of caffeine.

"What I do isn't nearly as draining as what you do." Dan smiles, adjusts the hideous green bandanna on his forehead (which Sengoku remembers to be Akutsu's, but he doesn't say anything), and runs off again, leaving the two men sipping their coffees whilst reading the newspaper. The floor isn't yet half-occupied, and it is still early in the morning, but even taking that into account, everyone seems to be unusually silent. Is it that if they don't talk about work, there is nothing to talk about anymore, Minami wonders. He is about to say something to break the silence, but Sengoku suddenly speaks first.

"So, how're things going?"

"Things" being work, of course. Work and woman are the only things Sengoku ever thinks about. But there is very little Minami can tell. "Akutsu got some cuts in the last one and needs a couple of stitches, but he'll be fine."

"Yeah, I heard."

"Apart from that, things are going well. You really can't go wrong with Yukimura leading. He forbids anyone from getting hurt or failing. Akutsu would've been fine if he listened to instructions." Minami snorts humourlessly. "Half of us are like kids, standing next to Yukimura. I've never seen anyone who can fight and make arrests like that. He's like, a real life Jet Li."

Sengoku opens his drawer, digs out a breakfast bar and devours it. "Hmm. I really want to see that."

"And on your side?"

"Going round in circles. Dead ends everywhere. And Sanada's a slave-driver."

"And you're masochistic."

"Yup." It seems like he has underestimated how much Minami knows him, Sengoku thinks. Despite all his complaints, he is having the time of his life and something inside is telling him that his theory is right and one day he will meet this Yagyuu. Whether Sanada believes him or not though, he isn't sure. Judging from the way Sanada is working, the man is keeping all options open.

He finishes the coffee and puts the newspaper away. It's about time to start working again.

"Oh, please wait!" Dan hurries over to Sengoku again, this time carrying a mountain of post. He stops at Sengoku's desk, dumps the pile down, and begins to go through it. He pulls out an A4-sized envelope, gives it to Sengoku and then tries to gather the pile into his arms again.

Sengoku flips the envelope over. There is nothing written on it apart from Sengoku's name printed across the front, and no stamps. "Who's this from?" He asks as he gets a ruler to slice the envelope open.

"No idea desu." Curious, Dan lets go of the task on hand to see what is inside the mysterious envelope. Across the desks, Minami stands up to take a peek as well. Sengoku mock glares at them before reaching inside to pull out-

"A photo of some guy."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know." Sengoku shows the photograph to Minami, who shakes his head after taking a look. Putting it on the desk, he looks inside the envelope and takes out a piece of paper, once again with words printed on it.

He becomes very still after reading the note. A while later, he puts the note back into the envelope, gets a nearby plastic bag and using it as a glove, picks up the photograph and puts it away as well. Then he puts the whole thing into the bag very carefully.

"Sengoku?"

"If Sanada looks for me, tell him I'm at the labs."

 

As Sengoku has half expected, the envelope and its contents come back clean of any prints. Tests are being run on the more minor details, such as the ink used to for printing, but Sengoku knows nothing will come out of that. On the phone, Tezuka sounds unimpressed; he has always disliked disorder and Sengoku is jumping the queue asking his tests to be done first.

"My lead was killed back in November after giving me some intel on that assassination," Sanada's eyes are fixed on Sengoku as the inspector explains. He paces around the room, unable to stay still. "His body was dumped at sea and washed ashore a while later. We never released his details to the media, but the note has it all." He passes a copy of the note to Sanada, who reads it quickly. Name, age, exactly how he was killed and why, all listed concisely on a sheet of paper. If this is a tip-off, the man in the photograph must be the person who killed Sengoku's lead, and may even be the hitman they're looking for.

"But there's a half-million reward for providing info that leads to the assassin's arrest. There is no reason for anyone to tip-off anonymously and only after such a long time." Sanada studies the photograph again. It shows a man in his late teens or early twenties, with pale skin and a rather unusual hair cut. The fringe covers his forehead completely, and is cut straight near the eyebrow. It is as if someone has covered his head with a large bowl and used it as a guide to cut the hair.

"And whoever it is, he has all this info and has gone out on a limb to give us a picture, but not a name. This smells too fishy."

"But not a trap." There is no need to mislead them when they actually have no leads. Sanada scowls, frustrated. "Whoever sent you this did not want to give you his identity, but wants this person out of his way."

"But if you put it that way..."

It does sound more and more like Sengoku's theory is right. But it is too early to draw any conclusions. "Copy the photo to the other teams and tell them to check it against all the lists. We need a name to the face. Go." Sanada get up from his seat with a new rush of energy. "Don't tell them what this is for. You know what to do. I'll go talk to Tezuka again."

He leaves the room without waiting for Sengoku's response. The laboratories are not within walking distance, but Sanada prefers talking face-to-face - if someone (likely Yukimura) forces him, he would admit that he has a strange fear of phones. The sound of one ringing makes him jump, and when he talks into one he gets worried about his voice sounding strange, or not being able to explain his point properly because of the lack of body language.

"Sanada?"

Sanada pauses in surprise before hurriedly reaching forward to hold down the "open" button for the elevator doors. Right, apparently he has just walked into the lift when it was going up instead of down. He probably is getting too tired. Yukimura smiles gently at him and steps into the metal box.

"I was about to go and look for you, actually. To see how you are."

Sanada gazes at the panel of flashing numbers above the doors. "There seems to be a potential breakthrough." He stops and finally wills himself to look Yukimura in the eye. "I won't disappoint you."

Yukimura's response comes through smiling lips. "You never disappoint me." He leans against a cold wall in a lazy, boneless posture, and his gaze turns predatory when Sanada shifts as the man gradually realises what Yukimura is referring to. Then he pushes himself off the wall and takes the two steps required to bring him right up to the man.

"Yuki-" Sanada instinctively backs away, fully aware of the CCTV camera above them, recording everything with its mechanical eye. Yukimura chuckles, but his expression soon turns serious.

"Have you checked your mail today?" He breathes out the question, and continues when Sanada shakes his head. "The IA is on our department."

Sanada takes a deep breath. "No."

"Yes. There are too many unresolved-cases linked with the hitman and they think somebody is on the inside helping him. They want to send someone in. But I can't let them snoop around, Sanada. It will demoralise everyone and hold back our investigation progress."

The elevator stops at Yukimura's floor, but Yukimura makes no move to leave. Sanada presses the "close" button.

"You haven't agreed to it have you?" Sanada cannot imagine Yukimura allowing someone to come in and poke around like that. His team, his people. Sanada knows the way Yukimura thinks. "I can do it for them. I'll look for whatever they want and pass on the information. Then we can keep it quiet."

"It is best that way, yes. But I've already volunteered. It's either you or me; they wouldn't trust anyone else right now. And you can't do it because you're involved in the investigation."

With a ping, the elevator stops at the lower basement carpark. Yukimura holds the doors open, but presses the button for his floor again. Sanada steps out, and turns around.

"Do you think..." How should he phrase it?

"That Judas is amongst us?" Yukimura's face is expressionless. "Yes, probably."

"Yukimura..." Sanada can imagine how much it takes for Yukimura to admit to this. A flaw in his team. It is absolutely unacceptable.

"Don't trust anyone. It'll make things easier. Tell Sengoku this too; don't share any information."

"Not even with you?"

"No. IA needs me to be independent."

Point. Sanada sighs heavily. Yukimura gives him a reassuring smile before letting the doors slide close, and Sanada stares at the metal doors for a moment before walking to his car. He has been hoping for Yukimura's help once the week-long crackdown is over, but perhaps it's time to stop relying on the man so much.

The moment he is in the car, Sanada puts his black baseball cap on. It always makes him feel more at ease; cameras from above can't film his face, and... Yukimura can't just jump him and kiss him. It is not that he doesn't like it, but he is sure one day they will be caught. Over the years the habit of the baseball cap developed. He probably looks silly wearing it, but nobody has told him so, yet.

The drive to the crime laboratories takes only twenty minutes. After numerous security checks, Sanada makes his way through the long corridors to find Tezuka in one of the glass-walled rooms, staring at a screen on a desk. Tezuka looks at Sanada briefly when he enters the room.

"You need to learn to knock." Tezuka's eyes narrow, a faint scowl marring his attractive features. But a moment later it is gone. What can he expect from Sanada Genichirou, really? The man's lack of finesse is shown in every part of his life. Besides, he knew Sanada would be coming today, after Sengoku's earlier visit.

"Sorry." Sanada helps himself to a seat. "Has anything come up?"

There is no answer from Tezuka for a while, who turns back to his computer and makes a few clicks with the mouse. A few seconds later the printer behind him churns out two pieces of paper, which he gives to Sanada. Sanada, after taking a look at the printouts, screws his eyebrows together in confusion.

"The ink and paper are the commercial type. It's used by two of the major photo-development chains here but it isn't possible to pin-point which shop it had come from." And to think he was going to email this to Sanada. In a sense Tezuka can understand why Sanada prefers to see him in person; Sanada has never been very good at reading this kind of report. "It's a digital picture. Some of the shops have 24-hour self-printing digital service," which Sanada probably has never seen before, Tezuka thinks to himself. "It takes mere minutes for photos to be developed that way."

"So it could have been printed just before we got our hands on it."

"I don't know the details of how you got this picture or where it came from. The printing on the envelope is at least a day old. The picture's date can't be determined."

"But the two could have been printed on separate occasions."

"I can't comment on that; that's your area, not mine."

Sanada folds the pages and puts them inside his jacket. "Off the records, Tezuka."

Tezuka breaks eye contact with Sanada, takes off his glasses and cleans the lenses on his lab coat. "It's possible. Depends on who you're dealing with. They could have prepared it long beforehand. But are you even asking the right question?"

The other man shifts in his chair uncomfortably. "I just don't want to leave any ground unchecked."

"Fair enough." Both of them look up when they hear a knock on the door. The person outside peers in through the glass window and leaves when he sees Tezuka shake his head. "But I think your mind is all over the place. Tell me what you're really doing, Sanada."

"I can't."

"Not even off the record?" Tezuka looks up, an eyebrow arched. He sets his glasses on the desk.

"Not even off the record."

They stare at each other for a moment before Tezuka picks up his glasses to put them back on. "I'll see what else I can find."

"Sorry." Having worked closely numerous times in the past, Sanada knows Tezuka only wants to help and having Tezuka's scientific mind on the case can be the most beneficial. And it isn't that he doesn't trust Tezuka, but Yukimura, helping the IA, will have to be neutral and he doesn't want Tezuka to look guilty of anything or be poked around for trying to help. This is outside his work area anyway.

"Not your fault."

When Sanada leaves a while later, he feels a desperate need to call Yukimura. Tezuka saw his soon-to-be ex-wife the other day and found out about the divorce. He didn't have any question, he didn't even try to look sorry for Sanada. All the man said was "it's good that you don't have children". It makes Sanada wonder how much Tezuka knows. And he can't explain why he told his friend the divorce is not just because of he is married to his work, it's also because both Layla and him had someone else, so there is no point in staying married. Sanada just cannot say why he has made the confession. Tezuka didn't enquire further but for some reason, Sanada suspects the man has always known, that he is married to his work because it means being able to serve the city, and because of Yukimura.


	17. Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiyoshi is not impressed.

The door to the warehouse is partially open when Hiyoshi arrives. Narrowed eyes scan the space in front of him. The dust is not settling; someone has recently been here, or is still here. His right hand reaches into his coat pocket and fingers curl around the M93R inside. Feeling the cold metal, his heart beats faster, pumping adrenaline around his body. Yagyuu is here. He is so close to becoming legendary and Yagyuu is all that is standing in the way.

He hears a click.

Hiyoshi looks around. If Yagyuu wants to, he can kill him right now, but this is not the way he wants to play this game and he thinks it's the same for Yagyuu. He walks until he is in the centre of the open space near the door. "Come out."

For several minutes (or maybe just one, but it feels much longer to Hiyoshi), there is no response, not even a sound apart from Hiyoshi's own breathing, and what he is sure is the sound of Yagyuu's deep breathing. Then he hears some rustling followed by, surprisingly, a long, loud yawn. A pair of arms appear behind some crates, fists clenched and raised in the air, then a man stands up slowly and picks up a bag of some sort, yawns again, and starts to climb down from where he must have been sleeping. When he gets to the ground, he wobbles on his feet and curses under his breath before making his way towards the doors.

Hiyoshi stares at this middle-aged, round-faced man who is wearing overalls with the dock's company logo and his hair plastered to one side of his face, obviously from sleeping through his shift. The man stops when he notices Hiyoshi, his eyes glancing left and right as if uncomfortable that he has just been seen, adjusts the rucksack on his shoulder and hurries away, his head bowed.

Hiyoshi continues to wait. Quite soon he knows he is not going to see Yagyuu, and heads home.

 

**H.W.:** I'm very disappointed; it could have been an interesting meeting.

**Y:** It was interesting.

Hiyoshi's hands freeze over the keyboard. The realisation of what had happened back in the warehouse finally dawns, and the glass of water on the desk becomes a casualty when the desk is slammed by the young man out of frustration and anger, smashing beside Hiyoshi's feet. Eyes fixed to the screen, he ignores the mess and contemplates for a long time if he should be saying anything, before he begins typing again.

**H.W.:** I imagined you would be much better looking than that.

**Y:** Having an unremarkable face is an asset in this job and disguise can go a long way.

**H.W.:** I'll keep that in mind. Now that I want you dead more than ever, how about we meet again properly?

**Y:** That will not be necessary.

_[01:58] N has entered the channel._

_[01:58] H.W. has left the channel._

**N:** Who was that?

**Y:** A colleague.

In a supposedly private channel? Niou put this information aside to look at when he feels like it. He has many questions for the **Y** on the screen but today he doesn't feel like asking anything, not even where Yagyuu has been last night and how long he still has to wait before they can meet. Today he isn't in the mood, because he has been asking too much and looking too desperate for attention and he hasn't wanked since last night. So he sits and waits. He isn't going to say anything until Yagyuu does, and today he isn't going to use any question-marks.

**Y:** Matters should be resolved very soon, likely within the next two weeks or earlier. Until then, I would like to keep in daily contact with you.

**Y:** When the shut-down week is over I will tutor you for two to three hours every week day in the old channel. There are things you can prepare for ahead of our meeting.

**Y:** Are there any problem with this arrangement?

**N:** Well fuck. Is it just me or has your attitude sort of changed? Are you becoming /friendly/??

Well screw it, two questions in one line. But how can Niou not ask?

**Y:** It is because I require you to meet my standards to be my work partner.

**N:** It's because you like me.

**Y:** I did not say that.

**N:** You didn't say you don't.  >D

**Y:** You will know when we can meet. It will likely be announced as breaking-news on the television.

**N:** ???????

No question-marks? What no question-marks?

**Y:** You will see. I can explain to you during our meeting.

**N:** You make it sound like you'll only ever see me once, yo.

**Y:** Our first meeting.

**N:** <3

**N:** From now on my eyes'll be glued to the TV screen.

**Y:** There will be no need. It will not happen until next week, earliest.

Niou scraps his lip with his teeth, but still cannot stop grinning as he types.

**N:** I can't wait. How about you, are you excited?

A long time, possibly ten minutes later, Yagyuu replies.

**Y:** Perhaps.

After logging off, Yagyuu picks up the digital camera on the desk. He formats the memory card and then fills it with harmless files, overwriting it several times before snapping it into two halves and throwing it away. Not that Senior Inspector Sengoku would ever get close enough to the truth to find him, but being careful has enabled Yagyuu to survive until now and he will stick with it - there is the possibility that the infamous Superintendent Yukimura will step in and take over investigation personally and that man is infamous for a reason. Their community has always been wary of Yukimura Seiichi, he seems to have knowledge from the inside but up until now nothing has been proven and he has stayed clear of their particular group so far. But Yagyuu doesn't want to risk anything, especially now that he must consider Niou's involvement in his life.

The mole who had worked for Sengoku, and who had been disposed of over a month ago, had described Sengoku as a smart, insightful person. A quick background search also told that Sengoku had solved some rather complicated cases and his name had appeared in the newspaper several times because of that. So a photograph should be enough. The police will probably not be convinced, but once they have H.W. in their hands they would close all the files that have been reopened and credited to Yagyuu. That's the way the world works; they have to please the society and so will have to turn a blind eye on some things.

Once that is done, Yagyuu can see Niou.

He sits, unmoving, for a while before pushing his chair back and pulling open a drawer for the packet of cigarettes he had bought at the corner store last time, before remembering that he doesn't smoke. He is only allowed half a cigarette after a contract and the other half he saves for Niou.

He hasn't seen Niou for nearly two weeks.

Every night he thinks, it is fine, he knows where Niou lives, he can go ring that doorbell right now, it's not dangerous. Or he can find a place to set up his telescope, like he does every time after a job, and just watch Niou. He hasn't done it so far but the desire will take over reason soon.

Niou is his poison. He has known all along.


	18. Lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sengoku and Sanada discuss their experience with pornography, and Yukimura knows he's treading on dangerous ground.

Sanada's mind is all over the place; Tezuka was right. Why should he be thinking about the timing of the photograph when he should be doing the obvious, which is running off to see if there is any CCTV footage of the person who developed the picture, dust for prints at the photo stations, and check the stations to see if they save the photographs' details?

Getting the videos is not difficult, all that is needed is a letter signed by the Chief Inspector - and Sanada is the Chief Inspector. Having just him and Sengoku run all over the city to collect the videos has posed a greater challenge, and in the end Sanada decides it is safe enough to get a couple of men to help, as long as he doesn't tell them the details. Half a day after leaving the labs, several boxes of video tapes pile up outside the room where Sanada and Sengoku are using for research.

"I suppose I'm looking for someone who'd also have been filmed at the bomb site." Sengoku nudges one of the boxes with a foot.

"Yes." Sanada can see the problem: how, with just the two of them, will they ever be able to match any faces? The bombing had happened on a Saturday, The Square had been crowded beyond imagination, and now they have 4 weeks' worth of tape from each of the twenty-two self-printing photo station to watch, most likely shot from above the head so the faces are barely visible.

"Four times twenty-two equals eighty-eight, times seven equals...six-hundred-something days of footage."

"Yes."

"And we don't know for sure that the guy had used these self-printing booths."

"No." But Sanada trusts Tezuka's intuition.

Sengoku looks at Sanada, who looks at him, both of them at a loss and finding the situation so comical they want to laugh if not for the prospect of having to watch all these tapes. A moment later, Sengoku smiles meekly and bends down to pick up a box. "No time to waste." They can always try to think of some solutions whilst watching.

Sengoku finds themselves comfortable chairs and two TV sets with VCRs, and loads the tapes, starting with the most recent ones. Immediately they discover that the task isn't nearly as daunting as it initially seemed. Most of the CCTV cameras had been positioned so that they can see the screen on the photo station clearly, so all they have to look for is that mysterious picture showing on the screen. The stations aren't constantly in use so they can fast-forward much of the footage.

"So they don't save the photo files in the stations?"

"No. Customer privacy policy."

"Drat. And are we going to dust the stations for prints?"

"Not until we have evidence of something suspicious having happened, otherwise we can't close them off as crime scenes."

Silence falls over. Sengoku switches to a more comfortable position and finds something else to talk about.

"Remember the porn DVDs, Sanada?"

Sanada shivers at Sengoku's words. "No on here will forget them."

"True." Sengoku snickers lightly. It had been a truly mind-boggling experience, having to watch a mountain of pornographic videos because a woman claimed she had been raped and the whole thing was filmed. It turned out the man was in the pornography industry and had over 500 video tapes and DVDs at his house, and the police, to gather evidence, had to watch every single one of them from start to finish. They were even watching it whilst eating lunch, because they had to find evidence fast or they had to release the man. After the first day most of them had salad for lunch, if they ate any; porn and food, especially anything with meat or sauce, just did not go together.

"Every person on the case had been put off porn after that, I believe."

"You were there for ten minutes, Sanada-dear. I was there for three days solid!"

An awkward pause follows when Sanada glances at Sengoku with a look of shock. Sengoku shifts in his seat again but pretends nothing has happened.

"The kind of excuse you came up with; I don't see how being married has anything to do with not watching porn." Actually Sengoku can imagine a wife being upset because her husband had to watch porn all day in the name of work. The truth though, was pretty obvious: everyone knows Sanada prefers to be on his feet doing things. Besides, sitting down and watching videos, even in the name of investigation, is too trivial for the Chief Inspector, whose time can be put to better use.

Sanada wishes he hasn't left his baseball cap in the car.

"But thank God you did spend the ten minutes." Sengoku still remembers the collective sigh of relief when Sanada found the footage they were looking for.

"It was pure luck."

"Hmm. I believe the better person you are, the luckier you get..." The voice trails off as Sengoku realises it sounds like he is trying to suck up to Sanada. "I mean, I'm feeling lucky today..."

Well, that didn't work. As Dan knocks the door and comes into the room with drinks, Sengoku's gaze falls on Sanada's hand once again. He has already noticed it a week ago: Sanada isn't wearing his wedding ring. He thought perhaps mentioning the word "married" might reveal something, but Sanada doesn't talk easily. Sengoku knows he should just be glad that he hasn't been shouted at for not concentrating on the work on hand, but he is very nosy, or curious, to put it in an elegant way. Who might know though, if he really wants to find out? He could ask Yukimura, but how does one bring Sanada's marriage into a conversation with Yukimura and would Yukimura tell him anything?

Speaking of which, it has been around a week since he last saw the Superintendent. If Sengoku is superstitious (which he is, somewhat, but not in that sense), he would say Yukimura had put a spell on him. Ever since that time in the shooting range, he hasn't been able to think of Yukimura... how should he say it, he hasn't been able to think of Yukimura as objectively as before. His curiosity about the man is ever increasing, now that he has seen Yukimura's softer side. And he can't seem to think about him without remembering the feeling of Yukimura's hand on his abdomen, the scent of his shampoo, and the way his soft breath brushed against his ear.

Thinking about all this makes him shiver. It's all very gay, isn't it, to touch and whisper to another man the way Yukimura did? Whilst Sengoku doesn't know which way Yukimura swings (you can't tell just by looking at them, these days), he himself definitely doesn't like men. It is disturbing and exciting at the same time.

"So, how's Yukimura?"

Sanada visibly stiffens at the question. Sengoku pretends not to see it. He'll think about it later.

"What do you mean?" Dan replies, looking here and there for things to do.

"I dunno, the special week is nearly over? Everything going well?"

"I have no idea desu. I don't ask these things desu." Dan picks up the wastebasket, looks around again, before finally leaving the room.

Sengoku turns back to the video. It is sort of weird, the way things are going now. It is as if, well, not as if, it really is happening - Sanada and him have been separated from the rest of the department. They can't reveal anything they've found, nor can they discuss the case with Yukimura. Back when the Superintendent gave Sengoku this task, he had warned him about the possible lack of support, but he didn't imagine it would be to such an extent. Probably even Yukimura didn't expect it. Who would have thought the IA would descend upon them like this?

His thoughts astray, Sengoku nearly jumps when Sanada pauses his video. "Found him."

Maybe it's true. The better person you are, the luckier you get. That's why Sanada is always luckier than him.

 

Wrapped in a crimson bath robe, he looks out his glass door, eyes immediately settling on the figure just off the driveway, as his instinct is telling him to do. The streetlamps give just enough light for Yukimura to see Renji has his hands in his coat, maybe because of the cold. There is warmth to offer in this house and he wants to come in, Yukimura knows. To touch, or to talk. Or perhaps both.

He backs away from the glass and takes his phone, to dial Renji's number. He sees the man pick up his call.

"Came to say goodnight?"

"We need to talk."

"Not now. I don't want you to be seen."

"Is someone coming here?"

"No, there is not."

"Then let's talk."

"Please don't be stubborn." Yukimura sits down on the bed, still looking out. "Don't make it difficult."

He can almost hear Renji's retort: don't make it difficult for me then. But Renji doesn't say it out loud. Instead, he cuts off the call and fades into the darkness. Yukimura calls him again.

"Goodnight, Renji. I love you."

A small sigh comes through the phone. "I love you, too."

Yukimura's gaze remains fixed on the spot where Renji was, moments ago. He needs to play this step carefully, he knows.

 

Niou has once called him a dog, and there is truth in those words, Yanagi Renji thinks. What else is there to him, really? He does his owner's biddings, barks at anyone out of line, sticks his ears out for news in the underworld, sniffs the air for any potential threats. The only thing missing is a tail, which he would probably wag happily every time he sees Yukimura.

But no, not this time. Hiyoshi is his responsibility and Yayguu was his partner once. The former needs to be taught a lesson and if he wouldn't learn, he must be eliminated; an organisation like this one cannot tolerate disobedience. As for the latter, Yagyuu is too valuable to lose. And although the possibility of Hiyoshi being able to kill Yagyuu is slim, perhaps just under 2%, the notion of standing by and allowing Hiyoshi to attempt it simply doesn't sit well with Yanagi, not at all. It wouldn't go down well with the rest of their contractors either.

Yukimura has a hand in this somewhere, obviously, but Yanagi doesn't know what is going on. Hate is a strong word but one appropriate to describe what he is feeling. He hates being left in the dark. He hates Yukimura meddling things with Hiyoshi and Yagyuu. He hates being forbidden from doing anything. He hates wanting, wanting Yukimura for himself, wanting Yukimura to mean it when he says "I love you", wanting to cut down the man Yukimura is seeing.

But those are the rules of this game. Yukimura had set the rules a long time ago and if Yanagi doesn't like them, he could walk out.

Or he could cheat.

Rule breakers are treated with death, Yanagi knows. He is usually the executioner. If he is caught, he wonders, would Yukimura do the deed himself, or would he even care enough to stain his hands with the dog's blood?


	19. Fool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What makes someone a fool?

It's already dark and the shopkeeper shifts in his seat. It is nearly time to close the shop. Perhaps he should do just that, and tell that Hiyoshi Wakashi person Yagyuu didn't come to pick up the CD. But what will happen to Jackal then?

He sits, and waits, twirling his hair with a finger and gnawing his lip. Yagyuu finally shows up minutes before the shopkeeper gives up. He takes a loaf of bread and some canned soup to the counter. "And this month's magazine please."

The shopkeeper pulls out the prepared magazine from a cabinet, with a shaky hand. Yagyuu gives it a quick flick through and sees the CD inside, and the shopkeeper gives him a shrug when Yagyuu looks at him. He hasn't been expecting a job during the shut-down week. But the shopkeeper is just there to relay messages, he wouldn't know anything about it.

Yagyuu pulls out his wallet, and remembers. "And some cigarettes please."

"Er, sure, which ones?"

Yagyuu's hands pause. Something is wrong. "Marui? Are you unwell?"

Marui Bunta nearly jumps off his seat. "What? No I'm fine!" Yagyuu has caught him out, he realises. " _Marlboro Lights_ , I remember. Here you go! Just, you know, with the bombs and everything..." He blurts out the excuse as soon as he thinks of it.

Yagyuu nods in understanding. "I see." Of course, anyone who knows who he is wouldn't want to be near him until the "Yagyuu" bomb incident is resolved. To save Marui from more anxiety, he pays and leaves quickly.

 

The apartment is warm, with heating turned on to the fullest, yet Yanagi Renji still wants to shiver. It is all psychological, he is sure of it, but it doesn't stop him from wanting to put more clothes on instead of taking them off after coming home.

He makes himself a cup of tea, and checks the time: it's nearly midnight. It's a night of new moon. It's been said that on such nights blood flows faster in the body, and some chooses such nights to kill, Yanagi knows. And if they are right, when he takes Sanada Genichirou's life later tonight, his blood will leave his body faster, leading to a quicker death.

But that is not the reason he is going to kill that man tonight. It has to be tonight because this is the first time he has found the courage to defy Yukimura. He has to do it now. He won't stand to just be used anymore. And if he still has time afterwards, he will tell Yagyuu about Hiyoshi. But he thinks Yagyuu will be fine without his help.

If he is to make use of the night, he needs to plan quickly. He knows where Sanada lives, he even knows the phone number, but going there without a plan of escape would be rash. He isn't afraid of arrest or death - he is beyond caring - but if, _if_ he must die, he'd rather first find out Yukimura's reactions to what he is about to do.

He gets out of his clothes and changes into something more appropriate: dark-coloured clothing, suitable boots, and a coat that would conceal his gun, all the while working out the steps in his head. He could lure him out by calling the Chief Inspector to say that he knows he and Yukimura Seiichi are sleeping with each other, and make it look like blackmail. Then he will be in the position to choose a meeting point, making the rest easy.

Yanagi is about to finish his tea and leave when the doorbell rings. Surprised and annoyed at a visitor at this time of night, just when he is about to make a kill, he answers the door and hopes this won't throw his plans out the window. A man stands outside, his hair hidden under a cap and his eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. Yanagi recognises him. Shocked, he steps aside and lets the man in.

 

The first thing Yagyuu does is to survey the site, as always.

The council flats have been abandoned and waiting to be demolished. Not even youths linger where the empty buildings stand, now home only to bands of stray cats. Yagyuu walks, unseen, down the alleyway between the two buildings. They are only three floors high, Yagyuu notes, looking up. He tests the main door by pushing it with a gloved hand, and it swings open easily. On the first floor he finds an unlocked flat with windows that face towards the other building.

He checks the sightlines from the window. He can see the whole length of the alley from here and it's wide enough for him to fire his rifle towards most directions. This will have to do.

Emergency contracts are not always emergencies. As long as the client is willing to pay the hefty markup - and as long as Yanagi deems it safe - he can have his wishes done quickly. Yagyuu dislikes these contracts. They give him too little time to prepare. There are escape routes to be planned, equipment to be chosen, disguise to think about if necessary, and he will have to mobilise Niou which he is reluctant to do at this point in time.

This alley is the shortcut the target takes daily to get to work, and the only suitable place for Yagyuu to pull the trigger. The client wants the target to "disappear", so Niou will have to remove the body from the site and get rid of it for him. The whole area is far too open for Yagyuu's liking, but as Niou does his job he can cover for him from above. It will be a good opportunity for them to practice working as a group - even if they do not meet beforehand or afterwards.

Perhaps having a contract now is not such a bad idea. He will be able to see Niou. It will be through the lens of his rifle, but it makes no difference. It's been a while since he has last seen him and he'll have to wait longer before they can really meet for the first time; for now he will have to settle for just watching. And he has done plenty of watching in the past, always from afar, a voyeur armed with a telescope to watch Niou work, smoke, lay down on his bed.

He remembers the first time he watched Niou. When his last assistant died (of cancer, not a bullet), Yanagi arranged a new one for him. The man Niou worked with died with a bullet in his head, but it was not Niou's fault; it was his own carelessness that brought his downfall. Yanagi gave the orphaned assistant to Yagyuu and warned him that "this one is a bit wild", and suggested Yagyuu watch Niou work once and see if he wants to keep him.

Niou, Yagyuu found then, was not just wild. He was dangerous. Dangerously captivating. He was graceless, but not rough. Careful, under that "I-don't-give-a-shit" exterior. His personality was an odd twist of cruelty and innocence and pride, cruelty to hide the innocence within, and pride for being and working with the very best. _Beats working with some idiot who gets himself killed_ , Niou had said on the computer. An initial test became a half-year trial, and then Niou was fully onboard. By then, Yagyuu's passing interest for the young man had become an obsession and he knew he should drop Niou then, to get away from this dangerous creature, but he could not.

It doesn't feel like that was all that long ago.

He turns his attention back to the matters on hand. The fire escape leads straight towards the town centre. Yagyuu prefers that over the alley and the main road. He can disappear into the morning rush hour crowd easily, but the other routes lead only to houses, a road, and a bus stop. Niou will be driving, those will be more convenient for him.

Yagyuu turns on his heels and leaves the building. It's getting late, and he needs to talk to Niou about this.

 

Yukimura removes the cap, sunglasses, and scarf, and shakes his hair loose. Renji stands, watching. Yukimura shouldn't be here. He had refused to let him in earlier in the night, so why is he here now? They shouldn't be seen together or going to each other's home, in order to protect their identities. They had established that a long time ago.

"Something to drink, Seiichi?" Renji hears himself ask, and Yukimura nods. In the kitchen he makes coffee for themselves, all the while aware of the weight of the gun in his pocket.

Yukimura is leaning against the doorway. He takes a sip of the coffee offered before putting it aside.

"I didn't expect you to be here."

"Were you about to go out?" Yukimura notes Renji's clothing and reaches for the man's coat pocket -

Renji flinches back. "I have some personal matters to take care of."

There is no surprise on Yukimura's face. "Don't do it, Renji."

"Is that why you are here? To save that man's life?"

"Yes, and no." Yukimura steps forward, and ignores the hand that is reaching for the gun in the pocket. He is afraid, yes, but if he doesn't do this... "Give me a few more days. After that, do whatever you want, I will not stop you or let you get hurt. A few more days, that's all I ask for. Can you give me that?"

The hand freezes as Renji hesitates. What is he doing? He never means to hurt Yukimura. "Why can't you tell me what's going on? What are your plans?"

A smile dances across Yukimura's lips. He looks almost mischievous. "Because." He isn't going to tell.

He has lost, Renji knows. The fight has already left him the moment Yukimura stepped through the door. "Fine. A few days."

Yukimura reaches into Renji's coat pocket then, pulls out the gun and puts it away, next to the coffee. They don't need that right now.

They are close enough to touch. Yukimura has to look up to see Renji's face. "There's something else."

Renji dreads to find out what else there can be. But he stands, aching with want to touch the man in front of him, and waits for whatever it is. And then he feels Yukimura reaching for him, draping an arm over his shoulder to pull him close, and lips covering his own. He's shaking. Both of them are, Renji realises. Shaking with want and need for each other. Without thinking he puts his hands in Yukimura's hair, grabbing and stroking the long strands as they kiss, his tongue stroking against Yukimura's. The other man is holding him so tightly he is digging fingertips into his back. At some point he manages to pull away and say, "take me."

They manage to get to the bedroom somehow, pulling and pushing each other towards the bed. When he has Yukimura underneath him, and his hands are working on their clothing, Yukimura gasps those two words again, "take me," and suddenly Renji understands what Yukimura meant the last time he asked, _"How long has it been, Renji?"_ They haven't had each other since... since Yukimura seduced Sanada. It has been too long.

Yukimura flips them over and takes Renji in his mouth, sucking hard. Renji has to push him away because he's already far too excited for that. Breathing hard, he reaches into the nightstand for lubricant and condom, all the while watching Yukimura stroke himself, legs spreading, lips gasping for air. To hell with foreplay, they are both ready and desperate.

Renji prepares himself first, before getting Yukimura ready for him. Yukimura's lips part in a soundless cry when a slick finger enters him and tears rise to his eyes. Renji brushes away the dark curls with a hand, shocked by what he is seeing. "You haven't..."

Yukimura squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head. "Keep going."

He cries out loud when Renji enters him, and they have to wait a while for him to get used to that feeling. Gentle, slow movements become quick thrusts, Yukimura holding Renji tightly all the while, whispering between breaths. When they climax, fingernails rake down Renji's back, leaving behind angry red trails and Renji holds Yukimura so tight there are bound to be bruises later.

Yukimura stays until early morning, letting Renji take him again before he takes a shower and goes home.

Renji lies in bed and thinks. Could it be true that he never let Sanada... or could it be another lie to make him happy? And if he could not believe any words of love Yukimura has told him before, how about the whispered "I love you" between each breath when he was inside him, could he believe that? But it is all real. Yukimura was here just now. Does it make him a fool to believe what Yukimura has said, or a fool to disregard it all?


	20. King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not about who you are, but how you project yourself.

The man in the video wore a cap and a pair of leather gloves; he knew the police would be looking at the CCTV footage. Still, Sanada and Sengoku manage to establish the time and location for the printing of the mystery photograph and from there, where the photo was taken.

The harbour and warehouses are only twenty-minutes' walk from the photo booth. Arms crossed in front of his chest, Sanada scowls at everyone and everything in sight. Nobody seems to know of anything special happening two nights ago and the security guard swears he didn't see anything, although the man looks like the type who can sleep whilst standing on his head.

Sanada turns when he hears his name called. "Found anything?"

A rather cowardly man stands beside Sengoku, frightened yet intrigued by the opportunity to help with a police investigation. Sengoku tilts his head towards the man, and then towards Sanada. "Arai. Inspector Sanada." The small-built man would probably freak out if he knows he's facing the Chief Inspector, so Sengoku leaves the word out. "Please tell him what you saw."

Arai's story is simple. Having slept through his shift, he woke up and realised it was past time to go home. Trying to sneak out unnoticed, he passed by Warehouse C, and saw the doors were open and the man in the photograph was inside. Arai left quickly, afraid of youth gangs which sometimes enter the warehouses at night to snort coke or do whatever they do.

The time and date matches the ones Sanada found, but it isn't much use if there are no more details. "Was he on his own? Did you hear him say anything?"

"I didn't see anyone else... he- he said 'come out', I thought he meant me, but I didn't move and he didn't come to get me..." Arai ducks his head; Sanada's glare is obviously scaring him, "who is he supposed to be?"

"Can't tell you that, sorry." Sengoku takes over, asks a few more questions and lets Arai scurry back to his work. Sanada gestures for them to get back to the car. During the journey back, Sengoku calls for a team to the photo booth and warehouse to dust for prints and take some photographs, despite knowing nothing will come out of that. By now they are quite sure of what they are looking at. The man they saw on CCTV is Yagyuu, and the youth in the photo somebody Yagyuu wants to get rid of, quite possibly the bomber. It seems like the two have met in the warehouse but nothing happened, apart from a photo being taken unawares. For some reason Yagyuu would not get rid of the bomber himself. Instead he sent information to the police, not worried that the bomber would talk too much during questioning, or sure that the bomber would never say a thing. Probably the latter. It's something to do with professionalism.

There is something about Yagyuu that makes the skin prickle - his being able to obtain a photograph and giving it to the right person in the police, his not leaving a trace of anything behind apart from a CCTV image that still gives away nothing, and his utter fearlessness in dealing with the police, the fact that he seems to be _using_ them.

Who is Yagyuu? If he is indeed a professional, has he had any part in the murders they are looking into, or is the bomber responsible for all of those? 

Sengoku sinks into his seat with a sigh. Still too many questions to answer, and there's the very important question of when he would be able to get some rest. The face of Niou Masaharu, the man he met by chance on a bus one night, is beginning to blur in his memory, but he can clearly remember those eyes, that intense gaze under the white hair. He has promised Niou he would catch the bomber. It is his duty to catch the bomber. But still, if he doesn't get some time off soon - even just not having to work at night would be nice - Sengoku knows by experience his immune system will fail him within days.

How does one bring the word "rest" into a conversation with Sanada, though? The man would probably erupt, but he'll just have to try...

"Let's go back and put things down and call it a day." Sengoku tries to look innocent when Sanada glances at him. "I have orders from Yukimura to make sure we don't get sick or overworked." Sanada's expression changes visibly. Using Yukimura as his excuse seems a good move. Now what if he tries... "Go home and sleep and talk to the misses? Women get bitchy if they get ignored and stuff."

Sanada's gaze goes back to the road and stays there. "What are you trying to say?"

Sengoku cringes. Sometimes he forgets how terrifying Sanada can be. "Sorry." He has always been too curious for his own good, Minami says so all the time, but he just never learns.

"I don't like discussing my personal life with colleagues."

"Right, gotcha."

The rest of the drive is done in silence. When Sengoku gathers enough courage to steal a look at Sanada, the man looks... no, not angry. Nervous, Sengoku realises. Sanada is as nervous as a school kid about to see his Head Teacher. He's either done Something Very Wrong, or he is Hiding Something. It's the same way he gets every time Yukimura is mentioned in front of the man, or when Yukimura is around. Sanada seems to be softer, more lenient towards things, but at the same time tense and nervous.

The two have been close friends for a long, long time. It's almost as if-

Nope. Not going there. No no no.

It is nearly dinner time when they get back to the department. Despite feeling shattered, Sengoku decides he can still do a bit of male bonding before going home. "Minami-dear! Dinner, I say."

Minami looks up from his desk. His hair has been gelled back, as usual, but there still seems to be a dark shadow on his face. "No, I gotta finish this. I'm nearly done." He rubs his forehead wearily.

"Then you can come back and finish it later. Come on, not having dinner is unlucky."

"Says who?"

"Me!" Sengoku locks an arm around Minami's shoulders and wrestles him out of his chair. Giving up, Minami says he needs to go to the printing room to fetch a print-out before going, and Sengoku follows behind.

The print room is a good-sized square room that houses five printers and copiers of various makes and sizes. Nobody would have noticed the young man crouched at the corner, between two of the printers, but Dan yelps loudly and falls on his backside as soon as Minami and Sengoku enters the room.

"Hey, my dear Dan!" Sengoku has to try very hard to hold his laughter in. "It's time to go home. What are you doing?" He asks, crossing the room to offer Dan a hand up.

Crumpled pages lie around Dan's feet, filled with scribbles, printed words and pictures, some of which looks very familiar to Sengoku. It seems like Dan has been smoothing them out. "I- I- ju- just just- taking things to the paper shredder desu! I have to straighten out the paper or it'll get stuck in the shredder desu!" Dan stammers, collecting the pages around him.

Sengoku cocks his head. Is it the usual practice to shred all the waste paper? Perhaps it's a new policy, what with the IA suspecting an informer and such.

He considers asking Dan to join them for dinner, but thinks the better of it. It's been a while since he last heard Minami talk about his love life and if Dan's there, shy old Minami isn't likely to talk. He closes the door when they leave, letting Dan get on with his work.

Sengoku throws an arm around his best friend's shoulders, and pushes him towards the exit.

 

Steak n' Shake is not a usual choice for Yukimura, but the diner looks comfortable and the waitresses very polite, both of which score points with him. He takes off his scarf, shrugs off his suit jacket and pulls his tie loose, before thinking about it and doing it up again. As much as he wants to open a few buttons at the collar to allow himself breathe, he'd rather not let the bite mark on his neck be seen, even though there is no reason for Sanada to be around. Absently he feels for the sensitised flesh through his shirt. It doesn't hurt much, rather akin to being pricked lightly by needles, and the feeling makes him smile.

He orders a chocolate mint milkshake and waits.

Those two are there, Minami and Sengoku, sitting not too far away to his left. He watched them come in about ten minutes ago and quickly changed location with his little friend, who should be here quite soon. The pair hasn't spotted Yukimura yet, but he is sitting near the door so if needs be, he can just catch their attention when they leave. One way or another, this is going to run smoothly.

A little while later, Yukimura sees his little friend walk through the door, and wriggles his fingers at him.

"Here, Hiyoshi."

Hiyoshi Wakashi takes the seat opposite Yukimura. "You don't look like a Steak n' Shake person."

"I don't look like a lot of the things that I am." Yukimura smiles, a thousand meanings in his words, "makes a nice change, doesn't it?"

It looks like Hiyoshi doesn't care anyway. They make their order, a vegetarian burger and coleslaw for Yukimura, and a house special burger with fries for Hiyoshi.

"You look pleased with yourself. What have you been doing?"

"Just what you suggested."

"Hmm?" Yukimura weaves his fingers together and rests his chin on them.

"I'm challenging the entire system. They're inefficient and too damn traditional."

"And that colleague of yours?" Inefficient and traditional? How interesting. Hiyoshi does have his unique point of view, which always makes Yukimura want to laugh. The last time they met, when Hiyoshi said his work place is led by "stinking old farts", Yukimura had to hide in the washroom for a few minutes because he could not stop laughing.

Hiyoshi pokes at his chocolate and peanut butter milkshake with the straw. "Like you said, the best way to show you're better is to beat them in their own game.."

"Yes, that way you'll definitely get the recognition you deserve." Yukimura says, nodding, "you're a smart person, Hiyoshi. I still think you'd do well in the force."

"Thanks but Mr. Superintendent, I'm better at the creative industry."

The boy thinks he's being so clever. Yukimura is amused to no end. "If it doesn't work out, join us. We always need more people like you."

"What, your department isn't coping?" A pause, then Hiyoshi adds, "you're looking for the bomber aren't you? You're famous for solving puzzles."

Yukimura fakes a sigh. "There's just one of me, and too many things to do. That's why I say we need smart people. We're one type of people, and everyone else..." Hiyoshi is looking more smug by the minute. Yukimura has to bite his lip to stop a smirk. Oh, this is too much fun. "We're working on it, that's all I can say."

When their food arrives, the conversation turns towards a more common topic between them - firearms. It is something they're both enthusiastic about, having first met at the Rithonia Gun Owners Association, and then at a private shooting range. At that time, as soon as Yukimura found out Hiyoshi's name, he knew this was the child Renji had been talking about.

Yukimura keeps his eyes on the food, and on his little friend. Making Hiyoshi like you isn't a difficult thing to achieve - flatter him and give him your undivided attention, and he is yours. It is a bit like trying to treat a king, and without a doubt, Hiyoshi fancies himself as the king of the world. He has been this way since the start; all Yukimura has done is fan the flames to make everything burn faster... and collapse upon itself faster.

And that is why Yagyuu is the better man, Yukimura knows. Apart from having to handle Yagyuu's cases, he has spied on Yagyuu during his work a couple of times, just out of curiosity. That man is extremely swift and careful. Trying to find Yagyuu was a hard thing enough, trying to remain undiscovered was nearly impossible. After the last time, Yukimura decided it was too large a risk to watch Yagyuu work. That man has proved his worth again and again, definitely. Renji has done well finding him and nurturing him. This is definitely one of Renji's strengths.

Hiyoshi though... trying to tame this one will involve more effort and risk than reasonably justifiable. Renji knows it, Yukimura knows it. You can't tame someone who thinks of himself as a king unless you give him several wars to lose. But in this work, one loss is one too many.

Which is a shame, really. But he is a good source of entertainment, Yukimura can give him that. Befriending him, initially, was purely for amusement, but now that everything is in motion, this piece will be the key to make it all fall into place.

All he has to do for now is sit back and watch.

When Yukimura hears the footsteps and voices, he does not look away from Hiyoshi, as if oblivious to Sengoku's approach. And then the conversation and footsteps stop abruptly beside him, and he smiles to himself.

His hardworking subordinate has seen the little king.


	21. Heroism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You may not live to learn the truth.

"Yes I'm positive." Sengoku can barely hear his own voice as he whispers down the phone. "Minami was there when I got that photo and he recognised the guy as well."

"Minami?"

"Yes." Thank God Minami was there. Thank God. All words had left Sengoku the moment he saw the Superintendent sitting with the man he's been looking for. Lucky Minami was there to handle the conversation. "He's watching the diner right now. They're still inside."

"They? One thing at a time Sengoku." There are sounds of clothes rustling and keys jingling coming through the phone. Sanada is on his way.

"The guy's name is Hiyoshi Wakashi. He's a friend of Yukimura's. Minami and I bumped into them at Steak n' Shake, the one two blocks from the department. Yukimura said they met at the RGOA. They're still eating." Sengoku says, all in one breath.

"Shit." Sanada clenches his teeth. Yukimura may be in danger, he doesn't know that that is the man they're looking for, what with IA procedures preventing the information from being passed through. And there is no real evidence that can allow them to make an arrest... but he could, in theory, detain Hiyoshi under the Terrorism Act. "Are you armed? Both of you?"

"No. Look, could you call Yukimura and-"

"If he's introduced you two to the bomber as his underlings, and then suddenly leaves after a phone call, it'll look suspicious." And probably make it even more unsafe. There is no way to tell if Hiyoshi is armed, and if he resists arrest by taking Yukimura or a member of the public hostage... that is a situation Sanada would rather not have to consider. "I'm a few minutes away. Keep an eye on them and tail them if necessary, but keep yourself _very far away_. Our priority is to ensure Yukimura's safety. I'll call him and make him leave, but not right away."

"Gotcha."

"Sengoku! Be very careful. No stupid heroisms."

Stupid heroisms? Him? Sengoku nearly laughs. From what he had heard in the past, Sanada is the one who tends to dive head first into danger. "Okay." He cuts the call and switches the phone to vibration mode.

Looking across the street, Sengoku can see Yukimura and Hiyoshi coming out from the diner. Around the corner Minami hides behind the newspaper stand at a convenience store, until the two have passed him by, then he hurries back towards the diner and Sengoku crosses the street to join him, waiting outside while keeping an eye on the bomber.

Minami reappears with an empty milkshake glass in his hand, wrapped in a tissue. "I suppose you want this?"

Sengoku has totally forgotten about it. "You're a lifesaver. Get this to Tezuka Kunimitsu at the labs, say it's from Sanada, he'll know what to do. He should still be working."

From where they are, Sengoku can just about still see Yukimura and Hiyoshi walking towards the high street, but if he stays put any longer he's going to lose them. "Cheers man, I gotta go."

"Be careful all right?"

Sengoku nods firmly before leaving his friend. Yukimura and Hiyoshi are still walking, chatting as they go. Where are they going? The streets are busy enough for him to remain safely hidden, yet Sengoku feels naked and exposed, with an odd fear rising in his chest despite knowing there is no need for confrontation. Yukimura Seiichi, the legendary Superintendent, and Hiyoshi Wakashi, the man who set off a bomb that claimed over 30 people's lives. This can't be right, that is clear, but it is as if there is something underneath... something that says this is not just a coincidence...

Some distance before Sengoku, Yukimura reaches into a pocket and pulls out a phone. Sengoku hopes it's Sanada calling him, telling him to leave. But nothing happens after the call ends. And then Sengoku's phone starts to vibrate.

"I've called him. He'll leave as soon as reasonably possible. Where are you now?"

"High Street." Sengoku's voice lowers his voice so much it's barely audible. "I think they're heading for _Borders_."

"The book store?" On Sanada's side, a car door is slammed, followed by rapid footsteps. "I'm coming."

 

_Gekokujyou_. Yukimura has said that was how he got to where he is right now. Hiyoshi doesn't doubt that what has happened in the police was a much lighter version of what he's about to do, but it's the same idea - removing those above, those who are in the way.

It's interesting that, being who he is, he got to be friends with the top man of the police. Hiyoshi has never thought Yukimura would be the person he is. He imagined a Superintendent must be way past middle-age, with thinning hair and possibly obese. But Yukimura is none of that, and he makes exciting company. It was several months ago that Hiyoshi told Yukimura he wasn't happy with at his work, but it still surprises him that Yukimura came to the same conclusion as he did, that in order to become great he must remove his obstacles. If only Yukimura knew who he is really talking to...

The multi-storey book store is not packed, but there are plenty of patrons browsing the shelves. Hiyoshi and Yukimura navigate themselves to the magazine aisles, at the back of the store on the ground floor. Hiyoshi toys with the idea of grabbing a couple of magazines and sitting down to read them upstairs at _Starbucks_.

No, that would be no fun. Not with whats-his-face - Sengoku, that's the name - watching. That man has been following them since Steak n' Shake. Sengoku has stayed pretty far away, but that red hair is just too bright.

Exactly why Sengoku is tailing him and Yukimura, Hiyoshi doesn't know. He doubts it has anything to do with the bomb (and if he does, he still wouldn't worry, they can't nail him down with that fingerprint), but since that man is there, he doesn't want to sit down for a coffee and let him relax. Sengoku can stand and watch all he likes. Or what's even better, and he can test Yukimura at the same time as well...

"Isn't that your friend?" Hiyoshi asks, as innocently as he can (which isn't much, if at all) just as Yukimura picks up the magazine they have been talking about back at dinner. He points at the Best Sellers bookshelves, where Sengoku seems to be browsing for something.

"Ah, it's Sengoku." Yukimura looks genuinely surprised. That phone call just now, and Sengoku being here, has nothing to do with him, otherwise Hiyoshi would be able to tell.

Sengoku looks up at the same time, and their eyes meet. Hiyoshi nods politely, Sengoku waves back weakly, and Yukimura waves, too, smiling.

 

Sanada is just outside of the book store when his phone beeps with a text message: dont come in they saw me

Sanada sends a message back: back out now

no, i'll make them think i'm shopping

ok. stay safe

The hobby shop nearby seems a good place linger around while keeping the book store in sight. There is only the one main entrance, which Sanada is glad about. He has brought his gun from home and it rests heavily in its holster, secured to his belt. It's not the police-issued one, but in the worst case scenario he will use it. There shouldn't be any troubles, if the bomber and Yukimura are just meeting up as friends. But if that man has any other intention - to harm the top man in the Organised Crime Department - then Sanada will do everything in his power to stop him.

But he can't let Sengoku take any risk. For him, this is only a job. For Sanada, this is his way of life.

His phone beeps again after a while: yukimura leaving, on his own. He looks up and there Yukimura was, a shopping bag in hand, stepping out of _Borders_. He crosses the street and heads directly for the subway. Good. Yukimura hadn't said much when Sanada called him on the phone, and his replies did not match a single thing Sanada was saying, but he obviously understood.

It is a good half an hour (Sanada has to show his work badge to the shop keeper to get him off his back) before Sengoku sends another message: target queuing to pay, leaving soon

Sanada starts typing a reply, but then deletes it and calls Sengoku instead. If the target knows he's being watched, then a phonecall would not make any difference. And if he thinks Sengoku is only shopping, then getting a phone call is nothing unusual. "I'll take over from here."

"But-"

"You've been seen, there's no use of you being there any longer."

"Yukimura's safe and gone, we can leave and arrest the target when we have proper backup."

"I want to know where he lives," Sanada speaks from experience, "RGOA isn't likely to give us anything. Criminals like him don't register anything with their real address. Is he coming out yet?"

"Still queuing." Sengoku lowered voice is urgent. "We've agreed that he's probably mad. Yukimura would never let you go alone. I'll get back up and we can take him under terror laws and worry about the rest later-"

"He was with Yukimura!" What will the public make of it when it gets to the news? If they're lucky, the evidence from the diner will prove Hiyoshi guilty, but despite what Sengoku has once said about his luck, Sanada will not rely on it. If they lose him here they might never find him again. Another day of this man not in custody means another day of danger to the public... and to Yukimura. He has to know Yukimura is the man who leads the hunt (at least in name) for the bomber, it was all over the news. There can be nothing natural about their friendship.

There is no response from Sengoku for a while. When he speaks again, it is not to argue anymore. "He's coming out."

"I see him. I'll keep you posted on locations. Once I find out where he lives we can put him on surveillance."

"Or if the prints Minami got are any good, we can take him." The fight has left Sengoku, it seems. "Stay safe. Back out and call me if anything's wrong. I'll have backup ready."

Sanada's only reply is a sound of recognition from his throat. He has to hurry if he doesn't want to lose sight of Hiyoshi. Putting the phone away, he hurries behind, keeping a good distance away from his target. Although his height seems to work against him here, Sanada has had much practice of this in the past. There is no way anyone would know what he is doing.

Apart from those who know what to watch for.

 

"Come," Yukimura has said on the phone, "I want to show you something."

Since last night, after Yukimura suddenly showed up at his door, Yanagi has given up guessing what is going on in that man's mind. Even now, he tries to not think about why he has been told to come here. He tries to not think about anything, not why Yukimura did what he did last night, nor why he had asked him to wait a few days. What difference can it make, to delay killing Sanada Genichirou by a few days? If Yukimura thought it was just a moment's madness, then he will be proved wrong. And even allowing him to kill Sanada Genichirou means nothing. Yukimura's words still mean nothing. Yanagi doesn't want to listen to the man lying to him anymore.

Yanagi tries to not think about anything at all.

He lets his feet carry him forward, and somehow, as if he has an extra sense dedicated for this, he finds Yukimura, standing at the entrance of a darkened alley.

"Seiichi," he says, noting that Yukimura is still wearing his suit from work, "what is it?" Part of him wants to shout, Yukimura has no right to ask him to be here, he works for him but it doesn't mean he is his dog and Yukimura can't summon for him whenever it pleases him. But one look into Yukimura's eyes and Renji loses his words.

"I know what you're thinking." Yukimura murmurs. There is that sharp gleam in his eyes - the look of a predator.

Yanagi hasn't seen Yukimura like this for a long time. "And would you tell me what you are thinking?"

It is as if Yukimura hasn't heard the question. "Come."

They enter the alley, melting into the shadows. Out the other side, they search for a while before Yukimura points, across the empty street, at the lone figure hidden in the shadows just like them. Sanada Genichirou. Then Yukimura tugs Yanagi on the sleeve. "Let's go."

Yanagi would have none of this. "What are you doing?" What is Yukimura trying to do? Make them shake hands and talk to each other?

"Please."

"No."

Yukimura presses his lips together, takes a deep breath and turns to cross the street. In a heartbeat Yanagi is beside him, cursing himself for not being able to turn down a request from Yukimura, and for Yukimura knowing him so well.

And then he is looking at the man who has stolen Yukimura from him.

Merely several feet away, with his back turned to them, Sanada Genichirou is on the phone, speaking rapidly with a hushed voice. Yes, that's where the bomber lives. It seems like he lives on his own. Yes he's going to come back once he has had a look at the area, he wants to start thinking about the surveillance.

Gesturing for Yanagi to stay where he is, Yukimura moves forward, patent leather shoes silent on the black tarmac. By the time he stops, he is only inches from the taller man, as if he is going to embrace him.

Yanagi wants to look away, but he can't.

It isn't until a swift hand snatches the phone away from him that Sanada realises he is not alone. Whipping around, the gun at his waist is out of its holster within the blink of an eye, its safety off and the mouth pointing at the man who was behind him. His eyes only register who it is he is facing, seconds later.

With the press of a thumb, the phone is turned off.

"Yukimura!" Sanada lowers his hands, locking the gun's safety switch again. He quickly recovers from his moment's surprise. "The man you were having dinner with-"

It happens so fast Yanagi almost misses it.

One moment Sanada is putting his gun away, explaining something. The next moment he is falling, like all the bones in his body have melted.

There is a silenced gun in Yukimura's hand.

And there is a hole in Sanada's head.


	22. Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niou has a question.

**Y:** Do you have maps of the city?

**N:** What do you think?

**Y:** Please look for Kersfield Council Estate, on the west side of Whitewood.

**Y:** It used to be an estate of eight buildings, but six have now been torn down, leaving only the two at the end of the road.

**N:** Yuppers, found it.

**Y:** At 0720 tomorrow (this coming morning), you will need to be there to remove a body. The target is a 47 years-old East Asian, male, 1.57m tall, weighing about 58kg. He should be dressed in a business suit. Unarmed.

**N:** No safe houses to clean?

**Y:** No. I apologise for giving so little warning. I have only received the instructions today.

**N:** It's cool. You've been there?

**Y:** I have looked at the area this evening. You can park at the entrance of Perth Road, although I was not able to observe the morning traffic conditions.

**N:** I'll watch my ass.

**Y:** The body will be located in the alley between the two council buildings. I will attempt to minimise the distance between the body and your car.

**Y:** Do you have any question at this point?

**N:** This looks like open air to me.

**Y:** Yes. Therefore you will need to complete your task quickly. I will provide the necessary cover.

**N:** XD!!!

**N:** This is so awfully romantic!

It is, Yagyuu agrees. In a completely twisted way, it is.

**Y:** No it is not.

**N:** Denial~

**Y:** If you deem the surroundings safe, study the body and try to deduce where the target was shot from by looking at its location, pose and the bullet wound. This will be a valuable lesson.

**N:** What, so if I work it out and look that way, I'll see you blowing kisses at me?

**Y:** You may see the tip of my gun.

**N:** *whistle*

**Y:** Is everything clear or do you need additional details?

**N:** Should be cool. But how about my lesson tonight? Yanagi hasn't sent the stuff yet.

It's the reading material Yagyuu has assigned Niou. Yanagi seems to be distracted these days. Yagyuu wonders if it could be something to do with the blackout.

**Y:** Because of the upcoming job being in several hours' time, I suggest we both get some rest now. Despite not directly meeting, tomorrow's success will depend heavily upon our working with each other and trusting each other.

**N:** Wait I just noticed something. This means you'll know what I look like, that's not fair.

**N:** Actually do you know what I look like, you won't mistake me for some random dude walking by and discovering the body and then shoot me dead or something?

Yagyuu presses his lips together, chewing the inside with his teeth. He hasn't considered that. It means admitting he already knows Niou's face.

**Y:** I will be able to identify you on sight.

But all the words do is make Niou grin. "You've been perving on me," he wants to say to Yagyuu, but he keeps the words to himself. That's the only explanation. Otherwise how could Yagyuu have known his watch was broken? It couldn't have been a coincidence that Yagyuu gave him that _Tag Heuer_ as a birthday present right after he killed the old watch by drowning it in bleach. Yagyuu has been watching him. It makes the game a bit unfair, but Niou is fine with that.

If life is like fiction, then Niou might be able to recognise Yagyuu as soon as he sees him. There won't need to be awkward introduction like a pair of internet friends meeting for the first time. But life is life, Niou knows, so probably it isn't going to work like that.

**N:** Fine. As long as the rules of the game still hold.

**Y:** I am not participating in any game.

**N:** The game where the winner is the one who gets the other guy to go to him in person first. You're playing, you're going to lose and you know it.

**Y:** It appears that you need to rest. Few hours remain before the work, I advise that we both get all the rest we can.

**N:** You know, for quite a long time, I used to wonder if you really exist.

The sudden change of topic brings a pause, before Yagyuu replies with a question.

**Y:** What do you mean by that?

**N:** Coz we've never met and I don't know, I could be talking to myself or just dreaming right now. There is nothing to prove your existence. Or mine, for that matter.

**Y:** That can be a philosophical argument.

**N:** Maybe it is. I've read some story before that the whole of the world and humanity is just some alien child's toy, like how the kids play with Barbie and Ken. But just take it down to the level of my intelligence for now? I think until the day we meet, I can't be sure if we both exist or if it's all just a dream.

**Y:** Is this why you requested the meeting?

**N:** Naw. I said I used to wonder. Now I don't care as much. So what if I'm you or you're me, it makes no difference. It's what we /believe/ that matters. You know what I mean?

**Y:** That it does not matter if the "green" you see is what is "blue" in reality and vice versa, as long as you agree that "trees are green" and "sky is blue".

**N:** You read my mind. So, as long as I think you exist, it doesn't matter whether you really do or not. And if you're me and vice versa, that's cool too.

**Y:** I cannot say I accept that completely.

**N:** I'll explain to you in our meeting ;D

**N:** So, final question before I go to bed!

**N:** Do you prefer to be top of bottom?

**Y:** I do not understand the question.

**N:** I had a dream last night, you were top and you fucked me real hard.

**N:** You pressed an automatic to my head and hissed into my ear and ordered me to strip both of us.

**N:** And then we were moving to the bed and you wouldn't let go of the damn gun for so long I thought you'd fuck me with it.

**N:** But I took it away from you when you got busy sucking me off and fuck you were good. I'd never been so hard in my life. Kept telling you to hurry up and fuck me coz I'd come without you but you wouldn't listen, so I flipped us round and pumped you with my hand and told you to stick it in me already.

**N:** Then you finally listened, got me on my hands and knees and slammed right into me. Fuck, that was good. You were all the way in and nearly rocked me off the bed and it was so good it was almost like pain only it wasn't, and you were pulling back and shoving it right in and getting me right /there/ and that feeling went right through me and I couldn't breathe.

**N:** Then you were on top of me and biting my shoulder and jerking me off. I shot into your hand with your cock inside me still fucking me to oblivion. I was still high when you came, we were both high for a long time and we kept fucking and I wondered if we'd get hard again like that with you still inside me. Wouldn't that be nice? Do you want to keep fucking me like that till we both pass out?

**N:** I'll leave you with that question. Goodnight  <3

_[02:44] N has left the channel._

_[03:03] Y has left the channel._


	23. "I win."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the winner is...

Yagyuu remembers his lessons from Yanagi: the reading; memorising the specifications of each weapon, the weight and shooting range of each type of gun and their import sources. The reconstruction of long and short range weapons, all mixed together on the table before him, while blindfolded. The same exercise repeated with Yanagi asking him questions at the same time ("'Through me the way is to the city dolent; Through me the way is to eternal dole; Through me the way among the people lost.'?" "Dante's Inferno." "Which verse?" "I don't read those things." "Good for you," light chuckle, pause, "what is the typical fire power on a fully-boarded EU Van?"). The way to kill with most household items ("A sharp pencil, given the right force and angle, can penetrate the diaphragm and the lungs easily. Or just put it through an eye, into the brain. And stir liberally, if you want." Yanagi said when he showed Yagyuu the way to hold a pencil, like a parent teaching his child to write). The one lesson that fascinated Yagyuu initially, though, was when Yanagi taught him how to check if the eye-piece of a rifle is aligned correctly - because all he had to do for that was breathe. The rifle moved ever so slightly with the movement of the body, and when the smaller crosshairs moved completely along the vertical of the larger crosshairs, Yagyuu knew he had it right.

Yagyuu enjoys the process of setting up a rifle. The precision and accuracy (which are very different things) required makes it somewhat like setting up an experiment in school, and science was Yagyuu's favourite subject. In each experiment, given the correct information and correct set-up, nothing can ever go wrong. Yagyuu enjoys this predictability; murder is a job, not a game. Predictability keeps the job simple and keeps him alive. It may be as simple as breathing, but one surprise and any person may choke.

Niou, of course, is an external factor. Yagyuu has watched Niou work for such a long time he is confident in Niou's professionalism but even so, after Niou had so blatantly said what he wants from him, last night, Yagyuu has to re-evaluate once again the influence Niou has on him and the effect that influence may have on his work.

For example, his thoughts have just drifted away for the third time in the last five minutes and the rifle is still not set up properly. Yagyuu doesn't sigh or grunt in frustration - emotional control disallows him from doing so, particularly while on the job - but he does take a step back and breathe deeply. Expelling Niou from his thoughts is proving impossible since last night. He thinks about how work may change when they become partners. He remembers watching Niou masturbate in his bed. He recalls every word Niou has said last night and the promise they bear.

If this is allowed to continue, his lust for Niou will lead him to his death.

He grits his teeth and gets to work again.

Despite the distraction, Yagyuu has the equipment set up with ample time to spare. He checks the settings once again. From this window, the angles are very tight but still doable, and he can make sure Niou will not be having to drag a dead body all the way down the alley and then having to come back to clean up any mess left behind by the exercise. The lighting also leaves something to be desired, but the overcast weather promises rain within the next few hours and rain after work is always good news.

Finding an old armchair to place near the window, Yagyuu rests half his weight on it and lowers himself, propping the rifle with a shoulder, and readjusts the angle slightly. The target should be here quite soon.

The rain comes earlier than expected. It falls like a sudden storm, blurring everything in sight and drowning out all sounds apart from that of water falling into the gullies, as a thin film of water flowed on the pavement. Yagyuu has to pull his head back from the rifle as he can no longer detect the target by listening for footsteps, and it is at that point that he sees the black Volkswagen Golf Estate pulling over near the end of the alley.

Yagyuu checks the time. Niou is early.

And the target is late.

 

Getting to a site early is not a good thing. It means waiting, working up the adrenaline, and the increased chance of being noticed and recognised later on. It also means Yagyuu may not have completed his part of the job yet and common sense (which he has more than he likes to admit) tells Niou he does not want to be there when Yagyuu is not prepared for his presence. Having parked just past the entrance of the alley, Niou cannot see what is going on there. Perhaps the man is already dead and waiting to be removed but this is something he will not risk.

Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, Niou flips on the stereo to help pass the time. Outside, the traffic does not look bad at all; this is not the route used by the rush hour traffic, it seems. It is too early for most shops to be open, so the street is mostly deserted apart from a handful of people waiting at the bus stop on the opposite side. There are two women with baby prams, a middle-aged man who looks like he has just hit the menopause, a blind kid with his guide dog, and a guy wearing a dark-coloured woolly hat and matching scarf.

Niou glances at the clock when a bus stops and most of the people, apart from the man with the hat, get on. With two more minutes to wait before work, Niou releases the brakes and moves the car back a few feet, blocking the alleyway completely so that he won't catch so much attention when he drags the body bag out.

Something moves out of the corner of his eye. Niou whips his head around. That man has moved; he was sitting with one leg crossed over the other just a moment ago. Another bus stops, the only other bus that stops there, but the man still doesn't get on.

One more minute to go. Niou focuses his attention on the strange man, and sees a pale face partially obscured by the scarf. Probably someone fairly young. Perhaps just a street kid who woke up early with nothing better to do? But what is he doing there if not waiting for the bus, and his composure... that stillness of the body, like a predator ready to pounce...

...Yagyuu?

The smirk that finds its way to Niou's lips stays there as he leaves the car and takes out the body bag from the boot, rolled up like a camping mat. Stay professional, at least for now. It is what Niou takes pride in and if the man at the bus stop is really Yagyuu, he must do even better than usual as he is being watched. Tucking the bag under an arm, he put on a pair of gloves and a waterproof jacket and closes the boot, and sees the man at the bus stop stand up at the same time. Not even pausing for a moment to look at him (because that would just give too much away and that's no fun), Niou turns on his heels and head towards the alley. He will have to make a second trip to do some general covering up, but first, the body.

After that, who knows, he may get to meet Yagyuu sooner than expected.

The rain is not easing up. If anything, it is coming down harder since Niou left the car. The tips of his white hair, which are poking out from under the hood of his jacket, are dripping with water, but Niou doesn't mind. This amount of rain means there is a lot less cleaning up for him to do; fresh blood gets washed away very easily, together with things like hair and flakes of skin.

Niou tries to listen out for footsteps that are not his own, an indication that the other man is following him, but it is difficult to hear anything in such an environment and all he can hear is rain splattering on the hood over his head. If the man is there, it means he is Yagyuu. Although on the computer Yagyuu did indicate that he should be somewhere less obvious and providing cover for him, one can never be sure - something could have happened that forced Yagyuu to change his plans.

But Niou can't turn around now. There is a job to be done and a game to play. If he turns around and Yagyuu is there, he becomes the one to seek the other out first, bringing them face-to-face with each other. That means he will lose.

Niou hums quietly to himself as he walks down the alley.

A quarter. One third. Half way down. Nothing. No dead body, not even a dead rat. Finally, he stops. And finally, he hears footsteps that are not his own, stopping.

Head bowed, water dripping from his hair and his breath misting before him, Niou suddenly realises the man behind him may not be the man he is thinking about and it is down to him to find out who it is, who has found out about Yagyuu's job and followed him here.

Niou allows himself to turn just enough to see the man. About fifteen feet away, a small pair of eyes stare straight at him. It is the man from the bus stop, a face Niou has never seen before but somehow knows it does not belong to Yagyuu. This man is not Yagyuu.

Well, shit.

He turns and runs. Water splashes around him with his first step, but even before he takes his second step, he is falling, knocked over by an explosion of pain that brings tears to his eyes. He tries to reach forward but his hands barely cushion the fall and he doesn't just fall, he collapses like a disjointed doll, hands first, then knees and elbows, a shoulder, and then he is flat on the ground. He thinks he hears a shout, a curse, a voice screaming his name, people running, but he can't be sure. All he knows is the pain and the dark water around him.

Oh god, no. Please, no. Not yet.

 

He does not see it coming.

When Niou appears at the end of the alley, Yagyuu recognises him instantly despite the jacket. Under the dark green waterproof nylon, Niou wears a black suit, and he does not seem to mind his carefully polished leather shoes being ruined by rainwater. Niou has his own walking style that Yagyuu can recognise even from above; there is a sort of pride and confidence in his strides that make him unmistakeably Niou.

But Yagyuu cannot identify the man that enters the alley shortly after Niou. Dressed in dark-coloured clothing and walking lightly, it looks as though he is deliberately following Niou. But since the target never appeared, there is no murder scene - it is likely he took a different route because of the rain - so there is no risk of someone discovering the body. There is no danger of any kind that Yagyuu can see. If the man is a common mugger, Niou should be able to handle himself.

It does not occur to Yagyuu, until that critical moment, that the man following Niou below is H.W. and there is no target to begin with.

It happens faster than he can react.

Niou stops, turns, and breaks into a run.

Yagyuu finally realises what is going on.

H.W. fires two resounding shots.

Yagyuu pulls the trigger on his rifle at his moving target, hitting a shoulder.

Niou falls.

H.W. makes his escape.

And then it is over.

Yagyuu forgets everything: precaution, common sense, survival instinct, even his rifle. He does not remember going down the stairs and leaving the building, but he must have done so because the next thing he knows, he is kneeling on the ground, water soaking through his hair and clothes, and flipping Niou over.

By all means of logic, Niou should be dead. But he isn't. Not yet. Niou looks at him, his clouded eyes suddenly sparkling with recognition, and when he smirks, blood brims on his lips, trickling down from one corner.

His lips move, slowly, determinedly, although there is no sound apart from the blood gurgling in his throat.

But Yagyuu knows what the words are.

_I win._

 

Yagyuu unrolls the body bag and puts Niou inside. He moves the legs in first, then lifts him from under the hips and slides the bag under him, before fitting the arms and the head inside. He zips it up and slides his arms under, lifting Niou like a groom lifts his bride.

Niou had been listening to classical music, Yagyuu realises as he puts Niou in the back seats and hears Beethoven in the car. Niou, Beethoven. He probably did it just for the amusement factor and as amusing as it is, Yagyuu does not smile. Or cry. Or even just frown.

He has to open the bag to find the car key in Niou's pocket. Niou is still warm.

He starts the car - the same car he had used in the past before it was passed on to Niou - and pulls out the phone from a pocket, and dials a number he never adds to the phone book but commits to memory.

"Yanagi speaking."

"I need some cleaning done."

A pause. "What about Niou?"

"He's dead." Yagyuu stops the car before a red light and a fisted hand hits the door beside him. The entire car shakes. "HE'S DEAD!"

Another pause. This one much longer than the previous. "Location?"

Yagyuu forces some air into his lungs. "Whitewood, Kersfield Council Estate. The back alley, near the middle, around twenty feet from the garbage bins. Two shells from an automatic, I didn't see the model. Also my rifle in flat 11, fired once."

"Understood. I'll get it cleaned up now." Yanagi pauses once again, this time not because of surprise, but hesitation. "And Niou?"

"I've got him."

"I can take over from here. Where are you?"

The light turns green and Yagyuu drives again. "No, I will take care of him."

"Yagyuu."

"I owe him that much."

Yanagi breathes out heavily. "Fine." Even he knows this is not the time to disagree with Yagyuu. "Anything else you need?"

"Give him to me." There is no question as to who Yagyuu means.

Silence follows as Yanagi contemplates his answer. Yagyuu continues to drive, pulling off his glasses when they suddenly start to blur, before realising there is nothing wrong with them.

"Give. Him. To. Me."

Yanagi cannot mask his gasp of shock at the cracking voice. "I... need to make a phonecall first. I'll call you back," he stops as he looks for the right words to say, "bury your dead first, think about the rest later. We'll speak tomorrow."

"...Fine."

"I'm sorry."

 

He steps into Niou's apartment for the first time. It is more-or-less as he has imagined it to look like; Niou has described it before, over the computer. He even mentioned the ginger ale and the grapefruit juice in the fridge. To come here is the second thoughtless decision Yagyuu has made today. But he doesn't want to bring Niou to the usual place. Niou deserves more than that damp, airless workroom in which most corpses are handled.

It doesn't take long for Yagyuu to find where Niou puts his cleaning equipment. Most of it is new - the used ones are usually kept in the workroom, if they are ever kept at all. He spreads the waterproof sheeting on the wooden floor and lays down the body bag, unzips it, and sits down on his heels, just staring.

The blood from Niou's lips has stained his face and hair during the transport. The suit is also damp with water and blood in some places. But even so, he doesn't look like he was ever in pain - which is a lie, Yagyuu does not need to ever have been shot at to know, and Niou had been shot twice. Shot twice because someone thought he was Yagyuu. If Niou had lived, he might make a joke of it, that besides himself there is someone else who thought he was Yagyuu. He would laugh despite having been shot at for that reason. But it had not worked out that way.

Yagyuu removes Niou's clothes first, putting them into a bag. Niou's skin is already starting to cool and go grey with death and even though in the past he had done this more times than he can count, seeing Niou like this makes Yagyuu want to shiver.

There are no exit wounds on Niou's chest. Yagyuu picks up the knife, bites down hard on his own lip and starts work on finding the bullets. He checks the location of the weeping holes on the back and makes a mark, with Niou's blood, on the front. They have both gone through enough to mean it is easier to take them out from the front than the back.

He cuts Niou open in the hollow just below the rib cage, and reaches up inside. Through the gloves he can feel the heat of Niou's body, and with each movement, blood pours from the cut Yagyuu has made, accompanied by a squishing noise. He cuts the lungs open and half of his forearm has disappeared into Niou's body before he finds the first bullet, and at that moment, he hears a squeak.

For a split second, Yagyuu panics - Niou is still alive!

But he isn't. He knows it is just because his hand has squeezed on the lung and forced out the remaining air inside the body, which has escaped from Niou's mouth. Niou is dead. Yagyuu has his arm half way up in Niou's chest and Niou is dead. If Niou is alive he would make some crude joke about him being warm and moist and Yagyuu being inside him, but Niou is dead.

Yagyuu freezes in surprise as his vision momentarily blurs again.

He pulls out the bullet, drops it onto the sheet and cuts the chest open at the other mark he has made, between the third and the fourth right rib. The second bullet is visible from the cut. He takes that one out as well.

Yagyuu doesn't allow himself to stop. He can't. Next he cuts the flesh from Niou's fingertips, getting rid of the fingerprints completely. He removes the right middle finger - Niou had broken that once. If there had been surgeries elsewhere - if Niou had broken a leg before, for example - Yagyuu would have to remove that particular piece of bone with a saw. But in the records Yanagi had provided, which Yagyuu had read over and over in the past, there is just the finger and he is glad for that. No scarred flesh, no birth marks, no recognisable features that need to be removed.

He shaves Niou's head. Hair does not decompose as easily as flesh and Niou's hair is far too recognisable.

And then he folds a hand towel several times, puts it against Niou's cheek to use as a cushion and then knocks it with a hammer.

By the time he has finished removing all the bloodied pieces of teeth from inside Niou's mouth, thus rendering all dental records useless, there is nothing left on the body before him that indicates this man was once Niou Masaharu. He is just a corpse, bald, face bruised from the hammer, bleeding and mishapen in the chest, and with a finger missing.

Yagyuu sits back on his heels. He has gotten very bad at this. What a mess he has made, covering himself head to toe with Niou's blood.

He zips the body bag, cleans up, takes a shower and puts on some of Niou's clothes. He burns everything that can be burnt in Niou's furnace and collects the rest in a bag.

He goes to sleep on Niou's couch.

When he wakes at midnight, the sense of disorientation is so strong that for an instant, Yagyuu cannot remember what has happened, where he is, or even his own name. But then the scent of blood in the house reminds him of who, or what, is inside that black bag, and what he still has to do.

When he arrives at the parking lot in front of the graveyard, he puts Niou on a cart and drags it to the booth at the entrance. The small shack is lit, with the sound of radio filtering through its tiny window, and a man sits inside, reading a novel.

"I need a grave." Yagyuu says.

"Not for yourself, I hope." The man looks up and arches an eyebrow. "Oh. Long time no see."

"It's been a while."

"Didn't expect to see you here anymore." The man stretches his back a bit to look through the small window, at the bag on the cart. "Family?"

"Yes," Yagyuu replies, "this can't wait."

"Hmm. Take the one over there. See that tree?" The man leans out the window and points to their left. "The funeral is tomorrow morning at ten, some high school kid drowned on a school trip. You need any help?"

"It's all right, thank you."

Yagyuu borrows a ladder and a shovel and starts to dig in the already-dug grave, under the oak tree. The rain this morning had not reached this side of the city and the earth is dry, but it still takes him almost two hours to go down to a good depth.

Niou is lowered into the grave and covered with earth until the grave looks like what it was before. Come tomorrow, the grave's new owner will have her funeral and no one will ever know there is another man resting beneath her. The girl's family will be here, with her classmates, teachers and friends. They will stare at the patch of earth where Niou is buried, and weep. There will be sermons, music and beautiful white flowers. Niou will like that. He will be very amused.

Yagyuu sits down on the ground and leans on the gravestone that does not bear Niou's name but will mark Niou's grave.

"You win."


	24. Niou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For trees are not necessarily green, nor must the skies be blue.

Yagyuu wakes up to find himself in Niou's apartment. His phone - Yagyuu's phone - is ringing. He picks it up and presses it to his ear, knowing who it must be on the other end.

"It's sorted. I've got your rifle. Some people did hear the shots but the old firecracker trick still works." Yanagi speaks straight away, not bothering with greetings. "I assume... Niou is gone?"

"Yes." Hair rises on Yagyuu's naked skin as he sits up in the bed, despite the heating turned on to the fullest. He rests his forehead on bended knees. "Now give me the name and address."

"Have you watched the news at all yesterday?"

"No. I was busy destroying my partner's dead body."

The sting in the reply makes Yanagi pause, but he continues after a moment. "Hiyoshi Wakashi is the man you want. There is a major manhunt for him at the moment, it seems like he killed a police chief inspector the night before he killed Niou."

"So you don't know where he is." The police better not find him first.

"No, I don't. Things are chaotic right now. I've told all the contacts to stay home, but they are keeping an eye out for Hiyoshi for you. It shouldn't take long, I estimate Hiyoshi will contact me within the next 48 hours. He can't hide for long with both sides looking for him. He'll have to ask me for aid. He doesn't know we used to work together."

"You will give him to me."

"I will."

Breathing out heavily, Yagyuu feels his exhaustion from yesterday coming back to him. His night's sleep had been restless and did little to recuperate him.

"Yanagi. Give me Marui's address."

"Marui?"

"He knew Hiyoshi set a trap for me." Even by house rules, Marui can lose a limb for that, although Yagyuu has never been much of a butchery person. He would rather pump an entire magazine into that redhead right now.

There is disbelief in Yanagi's voice. But if Yagyuu says so, there is no reason to not accept it. "He lives above his shop. But if he's been helping Hiyoshi, perhaps you won't find him there anymore."

That, Yagyuu knows. But there aren't that many places Marui can hide. "I won't go by house rules."

"...Fine. Do what you will."

Yagyuu turns the TV on and watches the news channel as he gets dressed.

Niou's clothes smells of the detergent and shower gel he used. The shower gel smells of what Niou would smell like. The bean bag Yagyuu sits in had the imprint of Niou's body from the last time he sat in it. Niou liked to eat processed ham straight out of the packet and canned sweetcorn from the can. Niou had a mountain of highly intellectual reading material and an equal amount of trashy magazines, although the latter seems to have been more used as coasters for many glasses of ginger ale. On the foot of the bed are the books - more like manuals - Yagyuu had instructed Niou to read after their first lesson online. Corners are folded and pages annotated, with the occasional doodle along the margin. Niou did not own any slippers, had a separate wardrobe for his suits and an endless row of shoes.

Yagyuu chooses a black, finely tailored suit. Niou's shoes fit. These are his clothes now, and his shoes.

His _Tag Heuer_ tells him it is ten in the morning. It is time to look for a certain shopkeeper.

Yagyuu switches off his TV and leaves his apartment.

 

If Yagyuu is to guess, he would say Marui has been waiting for him. Perhaps Marui knows there is no point in running or hiding, or perhaps he thinks he can talk his way out of the situation. But whatever it is, it does not stop him from shaking when Yagyuu has him pressed to a wall, with the tip of a gun trailing up his back.

"Look, I knew he couldn't take you. You're here and he's probably running around shitting himself right now. Please don't kill me. I beg you. He made me do it, I didn't want to! Please don't kill me..." Marui squeezes his eyes shut when Yagyuu lets his gun slide under the man's shirt so that cold metal touches skin. "You're all right, nothing happened to you! Oh my god. Please don't kill me, I don't want to die..."

"My partner was killed." Yagyuu's voice is deadly calm. "One shot here," he let the tip of his gun rest half way up Marui's back, near the spine, for a moment, before sliding it across, "and one here. He did not want to die."

"And I didn't want Jackal to die!" It's hard to Marui to speak or even breathe, pressed flat to the wall of his own home like this. But he tries anyway. "He took my best friend, he made me do it! Do you think anybody would have helped me? All they care about is their hitmen, people like me are entirely replaceable! Why don't you go ask why they let it happen in the first place! I'm sorry that your partner's dead but I didn't kill him! So please don't kill me, I'm so sorry, I didn't even know you had a partner, I thought it was just you and you could take that nutter on. I'm sorry!"

The news did mention a foreign man found captive in Hiyoshi's house. Still, that is not good enough. Niou was defenceless too.

But if Yagyuu had not been so crafty that time in the warehouse, Hiyoshi would be dead and Niou alive.

Marui screams when he feels the gun against the back of his head. Tears run down a face almost as red as his hair. A life for a life, he knows. And the moment he saw Hiyoshi's picture on TV he knew Yagyuu would be looking for him. He had harboured the faint hope that Yagyuu would be forgiving - he had even settled with the idea of having a leg taken off him for what he had done - but he didn't know there had been a partner. It will be a life for a life.

He screams again in agony when the gun is lifted away from him, and a bullet pumped into his left leg. Yagyuu backs away and lets him fall to the floor.

For the poor bastard left with no choice and didn't mean to get him killed, this is enough punishment, Niou thinks.

 

Yanagi calls again a little while after Yagyuu returns home. It is so rare that they speak more than once in a day, or even a week, that Yagyuu hesitates in taking the call. But Yanagi may be calling with information on Hiyoshi.

"Should I be sending a doctor or a cleaner to Marui's?"

"He hasn't called?" That was careless of him. Niou should have left a phone within reach for Marui. But Niou still has a lot to learn. It should be all right, the bullet was far from the artery and as long as Marui is not moving around too much, he should not be bleeding to death.

"A doctor then." It seems that Yanagi is on another call at the same time. Yagyuu does not bother listening to the rapidly-spoken details that are of no interest to him. Half a minute later, Yanagi is back on the phone. "I think it's better if we not talk over the phone. It's been a while since we met. Do you want to meet up? I can go to your place if you prefer, and bring dinner with me."

Yanagi is worried about him. It's an odd feeling, to be worried about. Had Yanagi ever done the same for Niou? "Fine. I'll be at home."

"Which one?" There are three places in the city which Yagyuu can call home.

"Niou's."

 

There is no reason for Yanagi's visit. But Niou's death seems to have caused more impact on Yagyuu than Yanagi has ever expected, so he has to confirm this and see if there are any undesirable side effects. On top of that, Yagyuu had been an exceptional partner to him when they worked together. That alone is enough reason for Yanagi to care about him.

Yukimura does not yet know about Niou. Since Sanada's murder, Yukimura has been busy playing his role of justice and would not answer any of Yanagi's calls. Even though he never knew what Yukimura has been planning, Yanagi is sure Niou was not part of his plan. He probably does not even know about Niou's existence. It's something that's down to Yanagi to inform him on, but only if Yukimura could spare a moment to pick up the phone.

The temporary silence is irritating, but something Yanagi can forgive. Despite being ordered around, or as Niou once said, the dog to his master, Yanagi thinks he is starting to understand Yukimura's motives. There was no point in letting Yanagi kill Sanada; it would have changed nothing. It had to be Yukimura who killed him and Yanagi had to be there to witness it to finally believe Yukimura had not ever loved Sanada, that he meant it every time he said "I love you".

What Yanagi does not know is Yukimura's final goal. But he has a feeling he will find out soon. In the meanwhile he will do what he can to calm the ripples Yukimura's plan has caused.

Yanagi presses down hard on Niou's doorbell, thinking about what he should say to Yagyuu first.

The door opens. The apartment's resident does not even bother to give Yanagi a look, turning his back and heads for the kitchen, letting Yanagi invite himself in and close the door.

Yanagi stands in the doorway in, frozen with shock.

"Niou."

The man comes out of the kitchen, a can of sweetcorn in one hand and a spoon in another. He lets his eyes rest on Yanagi for a while. "Help yourself if you want something to drink."

It's not Niou.

The lazy slouch in the shoulder, the slight tilt to the lips as they speak, the sharp glances, and the hair - bright white, light as feathers, bouncing as he moves...

But the voice belongs to the only man who can pull off such a flawless disguise.

"What are you doing?"

"Come in, close the door."

Yanagi does as he is told, gently closing the door until he hears a click. The man walks over to take the food from his hands, sniffing the boxes one by one as he puts them down on the table.

Yanagi would ask if this is some sort of a joke, but it is not something to be laughed about. "Should I be worried? Have you gone insane?"

The gaze that falls on Yanagi comes from Yagyuu. "I know what I'm doing."

"Truly? Can you convince me you aren't becoming a schizo or a classic case of disassociative identity disorder?"

"I know he is dead." The man puts on the glasses that have been left on top of the TV set. Now he looks more like Yagyuu. "Does this make you feel better?"

No, not much at all. "But why? What are you doing this for?"

"Because it's what we think, not reality, that matters."

 

It is what is believed that matters.

Niou goes to sleep in the night and Yagyuu wakes in the morning at 7am for his exercise routine.

Yagyuu gets on the bus and Niou looks out the window, letting wind rip through his hair.

They share a cigarette.

It doesn't matter that there is just one of them.

_So, as long as I think you exist, it doesn't matter whether you really do or not. And if you're me and vice versa, that's cool too._

Niou says, and Yagyuu agrees.


	25. Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One step closer to the truth.

They would not let him see the body at first. Not until he has calmed down sufficiently, they say, and only with the coroner's approval.

The coroner is a friend of Tezuka's. After much pleading and reasoning with him, Sengoku is allowed into the office, accompanied by Tezuka.

"Sengoku Kiyosumi, from the OCB. Fuji Syusuke."

"Hello. I hope you don't mind if I don't shake your hand." Fuji, a small, lean-looking man, speaks from under his mask and lifts his gloved hands briefly. With most of his face covered and his eyes hidden under tawny hair, there is barely any part of his face that is visible.

"Hi. And no, of course not." Sengoku says weakly, his gaze drifting towards the metal table between them, and the body which lies on top.

Sanada.

"The time of death is between 9pm and midnight. He died of a single gunshot." Fuji says, walking around the table and brushing the hair from Sanada's forehead to expose the wound. "Close distance, judging from the fraying of the skin and flesh. Quite close to point-blank. The bullet went through and out the back. Tezuka, I assume you've got the bullet?"

"Yes."

"No other visible injuries apart from some minor bruises and scraped skin which came from the fall. He was standing when he was shot. It doesn't seem the corpse had been moved, although what you find on site may prove otherwise."

Sengoku nods, and nods again. It is not that he does not know all of this already - he has read the initial report but just has to come to see for himself.

Sanada, dead.

The one on the table should be him. Not Sanada. A good man should have better luck. A good man should not die like this. Sanada was a good man, a righteous man, a man who told Sengoku to let him take over because he wanted to protect Yukimura and Sengoku.

"That's all I can say for now. I'll start the autopsy in a moment. If you wish to stay here, feel free, though if you're not used to this I suggest you to leave. The smell gets to people sometimes."

Sengoku leaves the office with Tezuka.

Tezuka speaks first. "The fingerprints do not match." It is something they had already found out yesterday, when Minami went back with Hiyoshi's milkshake glass late at night and found Tezuka still working. The prints on the glass did not match the one found on the bomb.

"At this point, it doesn't matter anymore." Sengoku murmurs, staring at the tips of his feet as he walks. "Sanada died tailing that man. And it should've been me. I was there. But he took over and got killed for it."

Tezuka suddenly seems to be intrigued by a painting on the wall; there are details he should not know about when the investigation is still ongoing. It compromises his objectivity when looking at the evidence. "Is that all you are thinking now, who should be dead and who should not?"

"No, but it's hard not to." They stop at the elevator. The clock on the wall says 03:45. "Shit, I need to go back or they'll go without me."

"I will send my reports to you." Tezuka takes a look at the time again. "Sengoku. Don't do what Sanada did. Get some rest. One hour, at least."

"The doctor speaks. And yet he doesn't take his own advice."

"My chance of dying on the job is far smaller. Use the coffee room and have an hour's rest. I will call to tell your superintendent."

There is something in Tezuka's voice that makes Sengoku relent. It's the charisma. It's hard to not listen to this man. "How did Sanada ever put up with you?"

"He didn't."

 

 

It is said that how well a man is loved can be judged by how many people attend his funeral. Or in this case, Sengoku thinks, by how many want to be on the team to capture his murderer. Sanada was never a popular man amongst his peers - his slave-driving attitude had a lot to do with it - but it is not only his own team, or the entire department, who are determined to arrest Hiyoshi Wakashi. The uniformed police and the Special Tactics department are on the phone offering backup, even before Yukimura calls them.

Sengoku makes it back just in time. Bent over a desk, Yukimura is checking the final preparations. Dressed in the combat uniform and his hair tied back, Yukimura looks like a commander bringing his army to war. He casts Sengoku a brief glance before fixing his eyes on the maps before him again. "Senior Inspector."

"Sir. I apologise for being late."

"That's fine. Speak with Minami, he'll give you the run-down of things. You'll partner with him on the second wave."

Second? Sengoku wants to argue, but he has missed the debriefing and being allowed on the second wave is probably the most he can get.

"Yukimura?"

The superintendent freezes for a moment as if he has been unexpectedly touched. He does not look up. "Yes?"

"You don't want to see him?"

A lock of hair falls free from the Yukimura's hairtie but he makes no move to brush it away. "There is no time. I'll go when this is over."

Yes, that is the best thing they can do for Sanada now. That is their call of duty. But how... he had known Sanada for nearly two decades. How come he can still be so rational? "When we come back, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course. After the press conference."

 

 

"At 3:03 this morning, Chief Inspector Sanada Genichirou of the Organised Crime Department was found dead..."

Sengoku, Minami, Dan and many others sit together and watch the live press conference on television.

"At the time, he was investigating a suspect, Hiyoshi Wakashi, on the bombing on 6th January... a joint raid by the OCB, the Special Tactics and the uniformed department was conducted at 5am at the suspect's address... the suspect was not found, although we discovered a man of Brazilian origin, who appeared to have been a captive. He was sent to the hospital and his conditions are stable...

"This is a photograph of the suspect. We believe him to be highly dangerous and anyone who knows of his whereabouts should contact us immediately at this number or the nearest police station... the suspect may be armed and must not be approached... We believe he has not left the country...

"Chief Inspector Sanada had worked for Rithonia Police for fourteen years, during which he had participated in countless investigations and put many dangerous criminals behind bars... his energy and his dedication was, and will remain, an inspiration to many of us... I vow to catch this murderer, who has also killed many innocent citizens, before Sanada is buried."

Yukimura gets up from his chair, ignores the questions and blinding flashlights from the photographers, and leaves the room. Another senior officer begins to take questions from the press. Sengoku would have been sitting there, if he had not wriggled out of it, with Yukimura's understanding.

Minami reaches forward and switches off the TV.

Sengoku puts a weary arm around Dan's shoulders as the young man begins to sob. "That was... an unusual thing to say on national TV, vowing to arrest someone." The media is definitely going to have a field day.

Minami shakes his head meekly. "Perhaps he wants to scare the suspect and push him into a corner?" He suggests, then sighs, "or he's just too upset. I don't know."

"Probably." Sengoku gives Dan's shoulder a pet. "Go wash your face."

When everyone else is gone, Sengoku flops forward and buries his face in his hands. Hiyoshi wasn't at home. He still cannot believe it. They surrounded the house, evacuated the area and even had the bomb squad ready, but that man wasn't there. Judging by the emptiness of the house, it is not the only hiding place Hiyoshi has. All they found was a Brazilian man called Jackal who has been badly beaten, and claimed he was caught and kept there by Hiyoshi, for no reason whatsoever.

He jerks his head up when someone prods him on the shoulder. Minami is still here. "You should go and wash your face too. You look like shit."

It isn't often that Minami cusses, which is cue enough for Sengoku to listen to the advice.

He finds Dan in the washrooms, bent over a sink and choking on his own tears.

"Oh God, dear Dan."

"I-I'm sorry desu!" The young man splutters, gasping for breath between his words. "I just- I just-"

"It's all right. Just let it out, it's probably better for you." Sengoku says even though in fact, he simply does not know what to do. Working for the police, a colleague's death is something they should be prepared for and thank heavens it is a rare occurence - the last time someone from the department died on the job was seven years ago. But prepared as they should be, nothing ever makes it feel any better.

The sound of Dan's sobs is heartbreaking. It echoes off the tiled walls and in Sengoku's mind and suddenly Sengoku is glad, because Dan is shedding the tears he can't find inside himself.

"I just... I can't believe it desu..." Dan accepts some paper towels from Sengoku. "Wha-what's going to happen now?"

Sengoku shrugs as nonchalantly as he can. "We catch the man, we lock him up. Life goes on."

"Is, is the Chief Inspector going to be replaced by someone else?"

"I suppose so."

"But how can they replace him? The Chief Inspector, h-he," another fresh flood of tears rise in Dan's reddened eyes, "he was always so nice to me, and he was such a good man, and he was Yukimura's best friend... you can't replace someone like that..."

Sengoku closes his eyes. "No, you can't."

"And Yukimura, he was always so worried about the Chief Inspector and we did what we could to help him but it still wasn't enough... if only I could've done more... but I didn't find out he was going after a suspect!"

"Help him?" Sengoku grabs more paper towels for Dan. "What do you mean?"

"Yu-Yukimura was really worried about the Chief Inspector since the, the beginning, but he didn't want to put pressure on the Chief Inspector, so he tried to stay out of things, b-but he told me to tell him what you guys were doing... so he can step in when you need him... he said the Chief Inspector was always too stubborn to ask for help desu..."

It all suddenly comes back to Sengoku: Dan hanging around in the office. The trash he was sorting out in the photocopier room. He was doing it for Yukimura.

This makes no sense. Yukimura had Dan spying on them, just because he was worried about Sanada? Or was it to do with the Internal Affairs investigation? Yukimura put them together to look for the bomber, when in fact he was suspecting one or both of them of leaking information?

But the timing isn't right. Dan said "since the beginning". If Yukimura had wanted to know the details of what was going on without Sanada knowing, all he had to do was ask Sengoku. Why...

Could it really be a coincidence that Yukimura knows Hiyoshi from the gun owners club, and they happened to meet up for dinner on the same day, at the same time, in the same restaurant as Sengoku and Minami?

Where did Yukimura go after he left the book store last night?

No, this is just him going insane. As strange and perfect as Yukimura is, he would not do something like that. What would he gain? Nothing apart from a bit of fun - if he is that morbid - and attention from the world.

But isn't that what he is doing, by vowing to catch Sanada's murderer before the funeral? There is nothing to gain by saying that. All it does is tell the world to look at him. Adore him. Worship him.

Which is probably what a man would want when he already has it all.

When they were trying to find the connection between the bomber and "Yagyuu", and Sengoku came up with his hypothesis of them being two rivals, Sanada didn't reject it. He kept an open mind and eventually they were more convinced by that theory than any other. That is the key to finding the truth: keep an open mind. Never accept or reject anything straight away. But even so, it does not mean he should have suspicions about his superior based on a random bit of information from Dan. Just because he wishes he can stop blaming himself for Sanada's death, it does not mean he can blame Yukimura instead.

"Hey, don't blame yourself, it wasn't something you could've prevented." Sengoku pets Dan on the shoulder. "I mean, you tried your best. And you aren't even an officer."

Dan sobs quietly for a little while longer before speaking. "Thank you desu. I feel better now desu."

"Good. Now go get people their coffees before they start a riot."

When they leave the washrooms, one of the officers tells Sengoku Yukimura has been looking for him. He goes up to Yukimura's office and after hesitating for a moment, knocks on the door.

"Come in."

Yukimura suddenly looks very different in Sengoku's eyes. That pretty face no longer looks sincere. Is it just his imagination? "You were looking for me?"

Yukimura get his brief case and puts a folder inside. Clipped on the brown-coloured cover is a photograph of Sanada. "You said you wanted to talk, this morning."

He did. But he is not sure what about. And now there are so many questions he wants to ask - what was Sanada to you? Are you even grieving for him? Why did you get Dan to spy on us? Why do you do the things you do - do you believe in justice or is it all just for fun?

"Procedure-wise, I'm supposed to invite you for, well, questioning." Sengoku slides his hands into his pants pockets to stop himself from fidgeting. "I'm gonna start writing the report on last night, and you were eating with Hiyoshi Wakashi..."

"That's fine. I understand." Yukimura pulls the rubberband from his hair and shakes it free. "But I'm about to go speak with the coroner. Can this wait?"

"Yeah, of course." Speak with the coroner? Not to see Sanada? Or does Yukimura just not want to say the name because it hurts too much?

"Is there anything else?"

Sengoku watches Yukimura take his coat from a peg and pull it on. It is not until Yukimura stops in front of him that he realises he is standing in front of the door, with his mouth hanging open, about to say words he has not yet thought up.

And then Sanada's face comes to his mind. And his voice. And Sengoku remembers how Sanada always seemed to be softer when Yukimura was around, how the two would sometimes disappear together, and that Sanada wasn't wearing his wedding ring anymore.

"Did you love him?"

The air becomes totally still.

Yukimura's gaze weighs heavily on Sengoku, judging the meaning of the question. Sengoku meets that stare, unwavering. He did not know this is what he wants to ask until the question came out from his lips, and it is not his place to ask something like that, but he has asked and he will follow it through.

"Was it something he told you?" Yukimura's question is spoken softly.

"No, but there is a reason why he picked me to work with him."

The reply comes with a smile. "You are indeed a lot more observant than the rest of them." Yukimura bows his head slightly, letting his hair obscure his face. "I need to get going."

Sengoku opens the door for them. When Yukimura leaves by the elevator, Sengoku makes a phonecall. He will never know unless he goes to see for himself. For Sanada's sake, as well as for his own peace of mind. He has to be able to stand before Sanada's grave and not feel he has questions unanswered. And tell the idiot that he knows about him and Yukimura and he shouldn't have felt too embarrassed or ashamed to talk about it. And hopefully, apologise for having ever suspected Yukimura.

"Tezuka? It's Sengoku from OCB. Yukimura's on his way over... I was wondering, could you give me a call when he leaves?"


	26. Yukimura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now you see it.

The classical music ringtone fills the air as Yukimura's phone blinks and vibrates in the small tray behind the gear shift, trying to catch his attention. He ignores it, but when it continues to ring, the caller on the other side insistent on being heard, he speaks.

"Taichi, could you cut the call for me please?"

In the front passenger seat, Dan blinks several times before taking the phone to press the "reject call" button. "It's from a withheld number desu."

"I know. I'm just not in the mood to talk to anyone right now." Out of the corner of his eyes, Yukimura sees Dan bow his head, and adds, with a chuckle, "you are an exception, of course."

"I'm sorry desu... for being a nuisance..."

"You know I don't think of you that way." Yukimura reaches across to pet Dan's hair gently. "I'm glad you offered to come with me. Thank you. It would have been difficult for me to do this alone. I'm just sorry you weren't allowed to see him."

Dan wipes his eyes determinedly with his sleeve, and shakes his head. "I-I know it's an ongoing investigation and I-I'm not his family, so-"

"It's probably better that you didn't see him, anyway. Look at you." Yukimura sighs, smiling. "There are tissues in the compartment in front of you."

Dan fumbles for the tissues. "I ju-just wanted to get away from the de-department... Sengoku is so upset and everybody's gone crazy..."

"That's all right. I understand."

"I've never seen a dead person before desu... I've seen my grandparents, but people put make up on them, and clothes... and they weren't murdered... m-maybe it was good that I d-didn't get to see the Chief Inspector. It w-would prob-probably have been very s-scary..."

"Taichi, would a hot drink make you feel better? Before I send you home?"

"No, thank you. I'm sorry de-desu."

"I've told you, you're far from being a nuisance. You have been a great help and I don't know how to thank you. Please stop apologising."

Dan dabs his eyes with the tissues. "But if-if I had found out he was going after someone, maybe... maybe..."

The car turns the corner and stops outside Dan's home. It is better for him to stay home and rest than be caught in the chaos.

"There was nothing you could've done." The poor boy, so cute in his distress. Yukimura pets Dan's hair again. "You've done your best."

Dan's emotions seem to have been soothed a bit by Yukimura's touch. "That's what Sengoku said too, but..."

Sengoku? "He is right. I can't tell you the details, but it was something that could not be predicted. So please don't blame yourself. I shouldn't have asked you to do something like that in the first place, it's put far too much pressure on you."

Sengoku did seem weird earlier today when they talked in the office. How much has he found out about Dan's role in this? It would be easy to ask Dan what exactly he had said to the inspector, but... better leave it for tomorrow. Dan is already far too stressed.

"Go home, Taichi. Get some rest, then come back and help us tomorrow. We depend on your coffee to function."

Dan cracks a smile despite himself. He scampers off the car in his haphazard way, like a child still growing into his limbs, not forgetting to thank Yukimura again, and apologise for taking so much of his time.

It is already 9 o'clock - speaking to the coroner and then to various departments, and also to Sanada's family, has taken a lot more time than Yukimura would like. He stretches in his seat, sighing as the delicious tension ripples through his body, before picking up the phone to make a call.

"Sorry, I've been busy."

"I understand." Renji's voice is quiet, as usual. "I've just been to see Yagyuu."

"Oh?"

"Niou died. Hiyoshi shot him twice."

"Niou?"

"He was Yagyuu's assistant. Yagyuu was planning on partnering him." Renji explains, sighing heavily. Yukimura can see him sinking into his seat or leaning onto something. "I think they were emotionally involved, but I'm not sure."

This is something Yukimura has not planned for. He runs a hand through his hair, and tucks a lock of it behind an ear. "Is Yagyuu all right?"

"It depends on how you define 'all right'. He is fine if you only consider his work life." A brief pause. "I don't know, Seiichi. He... you know what people in this line of work can be like. I don't think he has given in to it... he's let it become part of him."

"Renji. I made the plans, not you. Don't blame yourself."

"He's asking for Hiyoshi."

"I need that child."

"I know. But how about Yagyuu?"

In the silence that follows, Yukimura thinks through each step of his plan, and how Niou could have fallen through the net. It is his fault. He wasn't aware of Niou's existence, but ignorance is never an excuse.

"I can give him Hiyoshi." It will take some arrangement, but Yagyuu is the best amongst his children. He cannot compensate for Yagyuu's loss but he will give him revenge, at least. "But have you got him?"

"Not yet. In the next 24 hours, I expect."

"Excellent. Renji, I want to see you."

"Is there a problem?"

"I just want to see you."

Renji does not reply.

"You don't want to?"

"Just surprised. Are you not supposed to be working?"

"Yes, but work isn't necessarily done in the office." Yukimura has no plans to be seen working through the night when he has not slept the night before. Besides, his source of intel has always been kept secret. No one would be surprised if he wasn't at the office at night. "Come to my place. I'm going home now."

"Would that be wise? There may be reporters wanting to speak to you."

"Then I'll go to yours. You are at home?"

"Seiichi, is something wrong?"

"No. I miss you, that's all."

 

 

The bedroom smells of sex. Renji lets his hand wander on Seiichi's stomach, still cold from the wet towel that has been used to clean up, and his fingers trace the faint outline of muscles under the pale skin. Post-coital hormones makes him want to sleep, but he refuses to, stubbornly waiting for Seiichi to close his eyes first. He wants to watch him sleep.

Casting his gaze back up, Renji finds Seiichi looking at him, his expression tender and faintly amused. Renji reaches up to brush away the tousled hair on Seiichi's face and at that moment, Seiichi leans forward to kiss him. Long arms slide around Seiichi as he falls into Renji's embrace, his face buried in the hollow above Renji's collarbone. When he speaks, Renji feels warm breath dance across his skin, nearly tickling but not quite.

"I'm sorry about Yagyuu, and Niou."

Renji doesn't know what to think. He makes a sound of acknowledgement with his throat as his thoughts drift, and he wonders what Yagyuu is doing now.

"They matter to you, right?"

Renji nods meekly.

"Then I'll let Yagyuu have Hiyoshi." Seiichi says, his lips brushing over Renji's skin.

"But who will you give to the public? They are expecting to see you arrest Hiyoshi." Or have him killed in a final showdown. There is no better way to end the saga, no better way to make the world think Yukimura Seiichi is the modern-day god. That is what Seiichi wants, Renji thinks. To become the real legend. To become the idol to the world. The man who overcomes his grief to avenge for his friend and many innocents killed by Hiyoshi Wakashi. Yukimura Seiichi wants to be admired, adored, idolised. To achieve that he is willing to take any risk, sacrifice anything.

"I'll give them the show they want." Seiichi lifts his face to look at Renji, a cryptic smile on his lips.

The process, for Yukimura, must have been fun. He enjoys the thrill of setting up traps that tighten with each passing moment to ensnare his unsuspecting prey. With his traps he finally removes Sanada Genichirou, who has outlived his usefulness long ago. A moment's curiosity meant Yukimura made the mistake of seducing that man, who was fun but only for a little while. Getting rid of him proved hard work; Sanada had become too attached to Yukimura. With the roles they have to play, it has forced Renji away, almost out of reach. Renji was the one to pay the price for Yukimura's mistake.

He is the one Seiichi loves.

"Is now not the time for you to tell me the rest of your plan?"

Seiichi shakes his head, his smile mischievous. "But you can guess."

Renji sighs silently. "I don't know. You are the criminal mastermind, not me." He is getting very sleepy now. "Are you not tired? You didn't sleep last night."

"Renji," Seiichi says, his hand drifting towards Renji's nether regions and fondling. "Are you getting old?"

Renji arches an eyebrow. "No, you are just insatiable."

Seiichi's hand pauses then. It is as if he is caught in his thoughts. Then he smiles and crawls down Renji's body. "Just making up for lost time."

 

 

Planting a device in Yukimura's car had been risky and difficult, but it yields rewards.

Sengoku listens to the recording again.

_"Is Yagyuu all right?"_

_"I can give him Hiyoshi... have you got him?"_

_"...I'll go to yours... I miss you..."_

Sengoku buries his face in his hands and cries. For the police. For the city. And for Sanada.


	27. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

What should he do? What can he do?

A voice recording of a one-sided phone conversation is not nearly enough evidence to pin down Yukimura. In fact it does not even mean Yukimura is a criminal. He could have been talking to one of his sources and there must be a story to make it all make sense. But Sengoku trusts his instincts. What he needs is concrete evidence to show he is helping Yagyuu and Hiyoshi, although possibly even that is not good enough - Yukimura has always been valued highly in the force. The IA being happy enough to let him lead the internal investigation says as much - the sheer irony of this makes Sengoku's head hurt. To bring him down, Sengoku needs something even more incriminating, something that Yukimura won't be able to deny when shown to the court. Such as a video of him talking to Hiyoshi Wakashi or helping him escape.

At the same time, Sengoku has to think about arresting Hiyoshi, and possibly Yagyuu, although for the latter, nobody knows what he looks like or even exactly what crimes he has committed. Hiyoshi though, even if the fingerprints don't match, he has to be connected with the bombing, Sengoku is sure of it. Hiyoshi will be put behind bars; he has promised that to Niou Masaharu.

"Minami."

"Yes?"

Sengoku sinks into his seat. He likes Minami's car. Or probably he just likes the way Minami drives; so steady, it is as if they are gliding on the road. "Some time ago I met a guy called Niou Masaharu on the bus."

"And?"

"I mistook him for a glue sniffer. After I checked his ID, he asked me why I wasn't busy catching the bomber instead."

"Hmm."

"He had this really... I dunno, he sounded like he didn't care, but he had this really angry look, like he knew someone who got killed or something. Now whenever I think of catching Hiyoshi Wakashi, I think of this guy. And Sanada, of course. And that horrific scene at The Square after the bomb. But I just keep thinking of this guy. I can't forget his name or his face."

Minami is quiet for a while. He usually doesn't talk much while driving. But he speaks after a few moments. "Don't take this as an insult or anything negative, but have you considered taking a holiday?"

Sengoku sits up a bit. "What?"

"You're blaming yourself about Sanada even though you know it's not your fault. You are getting fidgety and you obviously haven't been sleeping even before yesterday," which was when Sanada was found, "and now you're talking about not being able to forget a man you met on the bus."

Sengoku's voice drops several degrees lower. "So I'm going nutters and need counselling. Might as well, I can get it for free."

"I don't mean it that way. I just think you need to rest. A proper break, not just a weekend, at some place with a lot of sun. You need to recharge, Sengoku."

The moment Minami says it, Sengoku knows it is true. The cold of the winter has gone right into his bones. Or perhaps it is the chill from knowing Yukimura is not who he projects himself to be.

"Not until this is over," he mumbles. There is no way he can tell Minami what he has found out about Yukimura. There isn't enough evidence to convince him, and it's far too dangerous to let him know right now. Until he finds something that will nail the case, he can't share the revelation with anyone.

He is walking on thin ice, but somebody has to do it.

Minami doesn't argue. At such a critical time, nobody is allowed to even plan their time-off in the future. For health reasons, Sengoku can probably wiggle his way out, but what this will do to his image in the department, not to mention his self-respect, is something they don't want to contemplate. People talk, and so does one's own heart.

When they get back to the department, the first thing Sengoku does is to look for Dan. He finds the young man at the coffee machine, looking slightly better than he was yesterday.

"Dan, be a dear and make me some coffee? I don't know how that thing works." He walks over to lean on the work table. "How're ya feeling?"

"Much better desu. Thank you." Dan smiles at Sengoku. "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. So, you went home early?"

"I went with the Superintendent to the coroner's. He had to go to a few meetings after that so he dropped me off at a book shop, then he picked me up and sent me home." He hands a mug of coffee to Sengoku, who promptly burns his tongue sipping it.

"That's good. You look much better too." Sengoku winks and pets Dan on the head. Dan is just one of those people who he can't stop treating like a child. "Speaking of Yukimura... you know you said he was checking how Sanada and I were getting on with the work? Does he know that I know?"

"Huh? I don't think so? I didn't mention it to him yesterday... I think."

"Good. Don't tell him, okay?" Sengoku sips his coffee again, this time carefully. "He's upset enough as it is, if he knows that I knew he was checking on us but couldn't help with anything, it'd make him feel even worse."

"O-okay. I don't want anyone to get any more upset desu."

That's Dan taken care off. Luck is on Sengoku's side; if Dan had already told Yukimura then Sengoku would be facing a very different situation.

Leaving Dan, Sengoku returns to his desk. Yukimura is in a meeting and from here Sengoku will be able to see him leave. In the meanwhile he thinks over the whole thing again.

Yukimura will have to turn over Hiyoshi, one way or another. He has promised so on national TV, and he must have has promised it because he knows where Hiyoshi is, or is at least confident in finding him. The man he called Renji on the phone is a key character in this, judging by the conversation.

Renji is Yukimura's lover. There can be no mistake for this, with the tone of voice Yukimura used when he said "I miss you" on the phone. Sengoku agreed Sanada should tail Hiyoshi in his place because he knew Sanada wanted to protect Yukimura. The man wasn't even dead for twenty-four hours and Yukimura was already spending the night with someone else. Yesterday at the office, he tried to act like the distraught lover, but in the end he did not even care about Sanada at all.

There has been ongoing conflict between Hiyoshi and Yagyuu. Yukimura is sacrificing Hiyoshi, but what did he mean by "give him Hiyoshi"? Is he referring to Yagyuu? He also mentioned "Niou" in the conversation, and it makes Sengoku think of the man from the bus again. But Niou can be anyone, it's just a name.

Sengoku is sure of one thing, though: follow Yukimura, and he will find Hiyoshi. The best way to go about it is collect evidence that Yukimura is working for a criminal organisation, let him turn Hiyoshi in, and then bring him to justice. Ideally. But if Yukimura gives Hiyoshi away to someone... Sengoku will have to improvise as events unfold.

His head snaps up when he hears the door to the conference room opening. People starts to file out. Yukimura is last at the door, but he closes it instead of leaving the room. A phonecall, perhaps? Could it be with Renji? Or just an ordinary call?

Several minutes later, Yukimura leaves the room, heading straight for the elevator. He shouldn't have any meeting outside the department today, and it's already early evening... can this be it?

Sengoku watches the elevator's flashing number go down to the carpark level, and runs down the three flights of stairs to catch up, managing to pull out his car a little while after Yukimura.

Sengoku has his video camera and his gun. The weight of the holster on his waist does not give much reassurance, but at least it's there in case the worse scenario should happen. He keeps his car a long way behind Yukimura's. Luckily the superintendent doesn't drive fast and so he can keep up without too much difficulty.

It suddenly occurs to Sengoku that if something happened to him - dear god, please don't let that happen - no one would ever find out the truth.

Should he write something down? Should he call someone? Who? Minami? Tezuka? The Internal Affairs Department? Or perhaps he could leave somebody with the recording he got last night. If it turns out Yukimura isn't going to see Hiyoshi this time, then Sengoku will have the time to prepare something. But not now.

And anyway, would he be so lucky (or unlucky, depending on which way you look at it) to hit jackpot on Trip No.1? No way. He was already exceptionally lucky to get a voice record last night, only hours after planting the device while Yukimura was speaking to the coroner. No way is he going to strike lucky again.

Unless, say, Sanada is up there, watching and blessing him...

When Sengoku sees Yukimura drive into an old multi-story carpark, he stops his own car some distance outside. He mutters a short prayer to Sanada and enters the carpark on foot.

Shit, where is Yukimura?

Walking as lightly as he can, Sengoku looks around him. None of the lights are working, so he has to rely on lighting from the streetlamps coming in from outside. He can't see Yukimura's car, but he doesn't hear anything either - if Yukimura is parking on the upper levels, with the carpark being empty he should definitely hear the engine. Perhaps he is just one floor above?

Sticking to the walls and the shadows, clutching the video camera in his hand, Sengoku walks to the stairs.

On the landing above stands Yukimura.

"Inspector," Yukimura begins as he walks down the steps. The gun in his hand points steadily at Sengoku. "Do you know what curiosity did to the cat?"


	28. The end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what Yukimura wants to happen. This is what happens. And this is what is said to have happened.

That was not how it was supposed to have gone. His plan was perfect.

Only it wasn't.

Hiyoshi had underestimated Yagyuu. When he first chose that site, he checked the angles from inside the buildings and was satisfied that it would be impossible for Yagyuu to shoot from upstairs. He would be able to force Yagyuu to abandon the long-range weapons he loves so much. But Yagyuu was - how he hates to admit this - far better than Hiyoshi expected.

Who the fuck was that guy he shot anyway? What was he doing there, behaving like he was looking for someone to kill, if he wasn't Yagyuu?

He managed to get the wound seen to by one of their own doctors before everyone got the news, so at least he wasn't bleeding to death when he had to find somewhere to hide. If he had managed to kill Yagyuu, it would be a completely different story. They would all hail him as the new god. But Yagyuu is alive and the order came down and soon everyone was out for his throat.

And then he tried to go home and there were bloody cops everywhere and his face was on the news for killing some cop he has never seen before. Yukimura, the man he ate dinner with last night, said on TV that he would capture him.

This is so fucking ridiculous. Now his face is on every single newspaper as well and he can't even get something to eat.

There is blood on his bandages. All the moving around has reopened the wound, though luckily not very much, probably just the surface. There are people looking for him in every hiding he can think of and cops at every route out of the city, by road or water. A few hours after staying at one place he has to move again and having a wound on the shoulder is definitely not helping. The morphine the doctor gave him is doing wonders but also doing his head in.

He can't keep running like this. The cops aren't going to let up on their search, but perhaps the organisation... the Master must help him. The Master might be able to do something about the situation. Yagyuu wasn't even physically hurt, surely something can be done about this.

Hiyoshi gives Yanagi a call. After a lot of hesitation, Yanagi agrees to meet him at a carpark and see what can be done, much to Hiyoshi's relief.

All is not lost.

 

Renji stares at the phone in his hand.

When he called Yukimura earlier to tell him he has got Hiyoshi, he was told to send him to the carpark, and tell Yagyuu to go there as well, which he has done.

But there is something wrong with this.

By sending the two men there, Yukimura can allow Yagyuu to kill Hiyoshi and then claim credit for it, so that all sides benefit. Yukimura said Renji doesn't need to be there, even though he insisted, seeing how chaotic things are getting. But Yukimura has to be in the area to make his story believable, and what if Yagyuu sees him? Yukimura may be skilled, but Yagyuu is the same. Is Yukimura going to reveal his identity to Yagyuu then? What if Yagyuu doesn't believe him? Wouldn't it be better if Renji is there to make sure nothing goes wrong?

There is something wrong with this. Why wouldn't Yukimura tell him the rest of his plans? Why, even at this stage, is Yukimura excluding him from everything? Does he think Renji would become an obstacle? To what? Renji knows what he wants. He wants to be idolised. He wants to become a real legend.

Renji's fingers suddenly slacken and the phone falls to the floor.

He knows what Yukimura's plans are.

 

There is a small amount of distance between them, but Sengoku knows Yukimura won't miss. He has seen him at the shooting range; Yukimura is an excellent marksman.

"I've got evidence against you, it'll be sent to the IA if I'm found dead." His knees are shaking, as is his voice. Shit. He's really in deep shit now. "You won't be able to explain my death if you kill me."

"You wouldn't be here if you already have enough evidence against me." Yukimura is almost smiling. "How about this: I've been suspecting Senior Inspector Sengoku Kiyosumi of collaborating with a wanted criminal, and followed him here. I was seen, there was a struggle and he was shot dead. It doesn't even matter by who."

Sengoku knows then. He can't win. Yukimura knew he was being suspected - he probably even deliberately let Sengoku suspect him. The trap has been there waiting for him. He won't win. He has failed Sanada, failed Niou Masaharu.

"Just... tell me one thing." He can't explain why, but even now, he still wants to know. Probably so that he can tell Sanada, when they meet again on the other side. "Did you love him?"

"No. Did you?"

A bullet pierces through Sengoku's heart before he can think of an answer.

 

Hiyoshi arrives before Yagyuu, despite it being difficult for him to move around. He has been hiding close by.

The darkness makes it very hard to see much once inside the carpark. The Master didn't say exactly where they should meet and Hiyoshi curses under his breath as he looks around, his head slightly dizzy with morphine. Finally he spots someone near the stairs.

"Master." He says, walking towards the figure. It can't be anyone else. Nobody should be using the carpark. Hearing his voice, the Master starts towards him, one of his arms outstretched...

It's not him. "Shit!"

Yukimura steps out of the shadows.

The Master sold him out.

He can't run, not with Yukimura pointing a gun at him like this. "It's you."

"So it is."

"Not that you would believe me, but I didn't kill your friend." Die, or be arrested? Hiyoshi can't tell which one sounds better. "Did someone tell you I'd be here? Was it Yanagi?"

Yukimura doesn't reply. Nor does he move. He must be waiting for backup.

If he tries to run now, Yukimura will kill him. If he lets this drag out, the cops will get here and he'll get a life sentence. Or a few life sentences. But at least he would live.

Soon the choice is taken from him. He hears footsteps. The very light footsteps normally would not be heard, but this spacious concrete structure amplifies every sound. Yukimura speaks then.

"Here you are."

 

Hiyoshi screams when Yagyuu enters his vision.

"You are supposed to be dead! I killed you!"

"You did." Yagyuu doesn't spare Yukimura more than a glance. Yanagi told him to come, saying this is where Hiyoshi is. He hasn't expected to see a cop here, but there are more important things to deal with. Hiyoshi isn't moving, whether because he is too scared or because he is still being held at gun point, Yagyuu does not know, nor does he care. There are many things he cannot care less about right now, including that dead body some twenty feet away from them. All he wants to do is to kill this man in front of him, right here...

"Wait. Use this."

A police-issued gun. Fine. Considering how Yukimura has been keeping Hiyoshi for him, he can do him this small favour.

Hiyoshi is screaming, shouting, backing away in fright at the white-haired ghost of a man in front of him. His screeching voice bounces off the concrete walls again and again.

"YOU'RE DEAD! I SHOT YOU, TWICE, YOU'RE DEAD! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU! I KILLED YOU, SHOT YOU DEAD! WHO ARE YOU! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

Yagyuu does not answer. He walks forward as Hiyoshi backs away, the man's screams becoming incoherent now. When Yagyuu begins to walk faster, Hiyoshi turns around and runs.

Yagyuu shoots him twice in the back. The sound of the gun shots echoes in the empty carpark, and dies together with Hiyoshi's screams.

 

When Yanagi arrives, Yagyuu is just standing there. Yukimura is putting down a gun next to Hiyoshi, probably the one he killed the inspector with.

For a moment, Yanagi thinks this is the end. Nothing is going to happen, it was just him being paranoid.

And then -

"YAGYUU! NO!"

Both men turn when Yanagi runs towards them, but Yagyuu does not lower his weapon. He frowns ever so slightly when Yanagi stands between him and Yukimura.

"Yagyuu, he isn't just a cop. We all work for him."

"I am responsible for Niou's death." Yukimura ignores the man in front of him and looks over Yanagi's shoulder, staring at Yagyuu in the eye. "I provoked Hiyoshi, I told him it'd be a good idea to challenge you."

"Seiichi!"

"You're not supposed to be here, Renji, please leave."

"Yanagi, get out of the way or I will take you down as well."

"No." Yanagi does the unthinkable then - he turns his back to Yagyuu and the gun in his hands, and puts his arms around Yukimura. "You can't do this to me Seiichi."

"Renji, you will not sabotage my plans. Leave."

"No." Just this once, Yanagi Renji will not follow Yukimura's orders. Just this once.

Yukimura wants to become a real legend. He wants to be admired, adored, idolised and remembered. To achieve that, he is willing to take any risk, sacrifice anything - even his own life. Because even the greatest heroes, artists, musicians, they are only remembered forever upon their death.

He has arranged the most extravagant, the most beautiful story to go with his own death. A man who brings a mass murderer to justice, avenging his dead friend and staying true to his vow, but giving his own life in the process. Having Sengoku dead is the icing on the cake and people will always wonder who killed the inspector and why, adding the mystery factor to the tale. It's a story that will go down forever in history. There will be documentaries about it, TV dramas based on it. It's a story that will be made into song, told from generation to generation, and forever remembered.

"Has life truly become so dull for you you want to know what death is like?" Renji does not believe it. Last night Yukimura would not stop touching him, talking to him, looking at him. Is that not proof enough that there is still something that Yukimura holds dear? For people like them - Yagyuu, Hiyoshi, Yukimura, even Renji himself - insanity is always only one step away and for some, a delightful escape. But for Yukimura, it is probably something fun to dip into. And this time it has gone too far. "Please don't do this."

"I need to do it." His face buried in Yanagi's chest, Yukimura does not struggle from the embrace.

Yukimura is afraid. He is scared of growing old and frail, ending up in an old people's home with no one to visit, drowned in his own memories. He is scared of dying the same way as most people do, ordinarily in an accident, or of old age, or of a disease that strips him of his mind or body, together with all his dignity. He wants to have control over exactly how people will remember him.

Renji nods. He knows. "But this is far too early. I won't allow it."

"You don't allow?" The words make Yukimura chuckle. Renji taking control. Renji becoming his Master. "Yagyuu may disagree."

Yagyuu. Renji has completely forgotten about him.

He turns around, carefully, shielding Yukimura behind himself. If Yagyuu still wants Yukimura dead, it will have to be over his dead body.

There is no one there.

The gun Yukimura lent to Yagyuu is on the ground. Yagyuu has left.

 

At the city of Rithonia, soon after the New Year, a man had set off a bomb at The Square, killing 35 people and injuring a further 26. The Rithonia Police Organised Crime Department got to work and soon found links of the bomber with the assassination of a politician two months prior, as well as with other unresolved murder cases.

When the identity of the bomber, Hiyoshi Wakashi, was discovered, Chief Inspector Sanada Genichirou led further in-depth investigations. He was found dead in an alley after Senior Inspector Sengoku Kiyosumi raised an alarm when their telephone conversation was abruptly cut off. During that time, Sanada was calling to report his status after following Hiyoshi to find out where he lives.

This event led to high tension and increased security in the city. Superintendent Yukimura Seiichi, who had been close friends with Sanada for almost 20 years, vowed to the nation that he would capture Hiyoshi before Sanada was buried.

In the next 24 hours, intelligence on Hiyoshi's location was given to Yukimura by a protected source. Yukimura and Sengoku went to verify this information, which turned out to be a trap. Sengoku was gunned down by Hiyoshi by a shot through his heart, which killed him instantly. During the struggle, Yukimura killed Hiyoshi by firing two shots to his back.

Hiyoshi was confirmed as the bomber when forensic scientist Tezuka Kunimitsu matched Hiyoshi's toe print with a print on the inside of a bomb fragment found at The Square. Documents found at Hiyoshi's other hidings confirmed he was a free lance professional hitman linked with at least 15 previously unresolved murder cases.

After a ceremony had taken place to honour the two dead policemen, Yukimura finally spoke with the press, humbly claiming that he was no hero, that he was very lucky to have had the chance to work with Sanada and Sengoku, and everything he did was simply his call of duty, nothing more.

 

Minami checks the apartment number against the piece of paper in his hand, on which an address has been scribbled. This is the place.

He rings the doorbell. Half a minute later, a man with bleached white hair answers the door. A hand on the doorknob, he leans some of his weight onto it as if he cannot be bothered with whoever it is outside.

"Hi. I'm looking for someone called Niou Masaharu." Minami says. He doesn't know why he is doing this but he is here now, and Sengoku must be laughing at him from where he is, up there.

The man doesn't answer. Minami holds back a cringe at the sharp gaze. "Perhaps you could pass on a message to him for me? Some time ago, my friend Sengoku met him on a bus, they got talking and Sengoku promised Niou he would catch the bomber. He was a policeman and he died in service during the arrest."

The man shows no visible reactions. He has probably read it in the newspapers or seen it in the news countless of times, with the way they bombard the city with this story.

Talking about this hurts, but Minami grits his teeth and continues. "I just want Niou to know that Sengoku was there till the very end. He kept his promise. I just... want to tell him that."

The white-haired man studies Minami for a few seconds. "I'll tell him." He says, shutting the door without another word.

 

They let Dan have the spare key to Sengoku's desk so that he can sort out the belongings and send them back to Sengoku's family. In the locked drawer, he finds an interesting-looking gadget.

It contains a voice recording of Yukimura Seiichi talking on the telephone.

Hiyoshi. Yagyuu. Dan knows those names. He has been in and out of the research room enough to know what was going on. He isn't nearly as ignorant or naive as everyone thinks he is.

Smiling to himself, Dan pockets the device.

It might come in useful one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is all (well there are a few side stories but this is the main one all uploaded)! So how was it for you?


End file.
